11 November 2025
Madrid Headquarters
"I don’t believe in charismatic, individual-centred leadership. I have much more faith in institutional leadership.” This was the categorical statement made by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, former Chairman of Caixabank and Chairman of the Board of Deusto Business School, during his speech at the 1st Deusto Business School Forum on Talent and Humanistic Leadership held on Tuesday 11 November at the Arrupe Campus, the Madrid campus of the business school.
After welcoming remarks by Macarena Cuenca, Dean of Deusto Business School and Almudena Eizaguirre, Director General of Executive Education at the institution, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri took the floor to emphasise the idea that a shared culture is a shared promise: a promise about how we treat others, how we make decisions, how we face ethical dilemmas, how we respond to change and how we imagine the future". Goirigolzarri stated that, from his perspective, grounded in his extensive professional experience, people management is the best tool for attracting and retaining top talent, as individuals, through their ability and commitment, will continue to be the differentiating factor between competitive and average companies. He also stressed that values must come before results because "the ultimate goal of a business culture is to achieve a common way of proceeding for the people who make up an organisation".
Goirigolzarri concluded his speech by advocating for leaders who embrace innovation and organisations that are tolerant of mistakes. He acknowledged the difficulty of leading in today’s context, where the speed of change demands new responses and solutions, as well as a high degree of responsiveness, flexibility, and agility.
The acceleration and complexity of the times we live in was a point fully endorsed by the next speaker, Deusto Business School Strategy Professor Jordi Albareda, who outlined some of the most significant challenges facing organisations. Albareda underscored Goirigolzarri's words by stressing the importance of organisations having leaders capable of creating the new and that organisations should be tolerant of error, but above all, that they should be committed to purpose. "Working for a values-driven company is going to become increasingly important,” he said, noting that in this complex world we need ethical behaviour now more than ever. He concluded by emphasising the prominent role that human resources departments will play, as organisations need to be beacons of good, with good people. "We are living through times of risk and uncertainty, but also full of opportunities to create something new,” he explained.
Next came the companies’ turn in a roundtable moderated by Marta Aguilar, Corporate Director at Deusto Business School in Madrid, with participants including Susana Sagi-Vela, Director of Talent, Learning and Development at Bankinter; Virginia Garrido Martín, Head of People and Culture at IKEA Spain; José María Maestre Ataz, Global Corporate Head of Talent at SENER; and Rebeca Navarro Atienza, Talent Director at El Corte Inglés. Intergenerational coexistence, succession planning beyond just the top level, the role of AI, respect for values, and the figure and role of the leader were some of the issues discussed by the participants in the roundtable.
