A doctor by training, Josep Santacreu Bonjoch put an end to a 25-year career at the head of the DKV insurance company at the beginning of the year, in which he achieved economic success, multiplying income by seven, but also of a social nature, with initiatives such as the Integralia Foundation, which employs more than 600 people with disabilities. “I will never stop being the activist that I am,” he declared when his candidacy to preside over the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona was anticipated, challenging the already known mobilization capacity of his pro-independence rivals Eines de País-Un Pas Més.
Faithful to that philosophy, he aspires to get a seat with the Fundació pro diminuits psíquics Finestrelles and will have to win it over from the Creu Groga medical center, on the rival list. His cordial disposition, his professional profile and his clear Catalan orientation ensure him many sympathies beyond strict political affiliations. Well seen in the PSC, in ERC and also in some sectors of Junts, among them the former councilors Jaume Giró and Victoria Alsina or the former mayor of Barcelona Xavier Trias, with whom he has maintained a friendly relationship for years.
He is convinced, however, that it is necessary to turn the wheel, put an end to the high politicization of the Chamber in these last four years and adjust to more business criteria. “A group of businessmen came to have the clear certainty that the evolution of the institution, the management in the last four years and the high politicization of the decisions of the current representatives forced us, due to the responsibility of the country, to present a candidacy that had a single objective: to return the management of the Chamber to the origin of its essence,” he explains. “If it must be summarized in one sentence, it is an exercise of citizen responsibility so that society has a legacy in its institutions that is solid,” he adds.
Santacreu always avoids confrontation and advocates forging complicity, also in the Chamber. “I don't know if it is important to personify whether I am the best candidate, although I think that my professional career supports me in the business field, but I think that the resume only partially defines any person,” he answers the question of why he thinks it is the best candidate. “But what is really important is the will and ability to establish alliances to generate trust and complicity that allow us to carry out strategic projects without leaving anyone aside. But above all, being able to bring together a wide spectrum of sensitivities and groups that do not have a single thought in order to make the Chamber an inclusive space that incorporates different sectors of society and the business community,” he maintains. And for this he considers that the most relevant thing is the team and not the president.
"I don't pretend to be the best candidate, but to represent the best candidate," he says in relation to his team, which includes Eloi Planes (Fluidra), Juan José Brugera (Colonial) and Josep Ametller (Casa Ametller).
