Federico Michavila, president of Torrecid group. 2013 ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

Federico Michavila Heras, president and CEO of Torrecid Group, received on 27st February, the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 award from the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria. The Ceremony, held at the Casino of Madrid, is organized annually by Ernst & Young (EY), in collaboration with IESE and BNP Paribas.

After achieving this award, Michavila will be the next Spanish representative in the global competition of the Entrepreneur of the Year EY Award that will be celebrated early June in Montecarlo.

The Entrepreneur of the Year EY Award is the most prestigious and internationally known award, which recognizes the work and activity of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies. It originated twenty-eight years ago in the United States and currently held in over 50 countries on five continents, representing over 90% of the global economy.

Its purpose is to publicize the success of entrepreneurs and reward, in particular, their entrepreneurial spirit and their sense of innovation, globalization and leadership as key factors to face the challenges imposed by an ever changing economic and complex environment. It also recognizes their efforts, sacrifices and ultimately, the risks they have assumed and that face every day to lead their companies to the excellence.

LEADERSHIP // The jury, composed by personalities from business, financial, academic and politician world, have awarded Federico Michavila for its entrepreneurial leadership and ability to drive the success of Torrecid Group, which has allowed it to evolve from a family company to a multinational company. This desire for improvement was revealed in the ongoing work carried out throughout Torrecid´s history in various fields, such as globalization of business, innovation or diversification into other sectors, both of which have been key for the development and continuous growth of the group.

After the ceremony, Federico Michavila Heras said a few words full of content to attendees in which revealed the characteristics that an entrepreneur must have to become a businessman. Among other, he mentioned that it was “essential to share ideas and dreams with a team of people, motivating them to believe and get involved in a project of common future”.

He also made reference to the importance of “having courage to make tough decisions, because without courage you cannot motivate a team, and the need to be demanding to develop the best people and to train future leaders”. In his speech he also mentioned the importance of customers, because “without customers there is no company”, noting that “thanks to Torrecid´s customers that believed in the value-bet through innovation, the Group has been able to grow and develop”.

GRATITUDE // Finally he had emotional thankful words to his father, his wife and his brother, for the “support and confidence” they have always shown, and also to the “team of nearly 3,000 people spread over 23 countries where different languages are spoken, with different religious beliefs, but they all have a common dream and illusion, which is to be the leader in every sector and in every country, this is why I want to share this award with all staff”.

ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY // Taking as starting point the ethics and transparency in its business principles, Federico Michavila Heras has used from the beginning a globalization-and-differentiation-through-innovation-based strategy, to achieve that the Torrecid Group consolidates its global leadership in the fields of ceramics and glass, where it provides products, services, solutions and future trends.

In fact, the target of the Torrecid Group´s President is to transform and create change in those sectors in which the company is active both present and future, which is perfectly reflected in its Mission: “to provoke the change through the global leadership in innovation to generate new solutions and future trends to provide the best competitive advantages and the maximum added value”.

A BRAND ON THE RISE // The company, which began as a small family company has evolved into a multinational, globalized world leader in its sector. Torrecid Group counts currently on 32 companies spread across 23 countries, reaching with its products and services to more than 100. It is noteworthy that seven of these companies have been established in the past four years despite the uncertain economic global environment that has characterized this time. The group controls several companies associated, with a turnover of around 600 million Euros and a workforce of 3,000 people.

This strong growth that the company has experienced over the years has had as one of its pillars the strategy of differentiation through innovation. Many of the successes of this strategy have provoked real revolutions and radical changes that have led to a profound transformation in the ceramic sector, thanks to this, it has been able to maintain its competitiveness and have seen excellent opportunities opened in the world of coatings.

HUMAN RESOURCES // In this process of continued growth, the resource that Michavila Federico Heras has given greater importance within the Group has been Torrecid´s culture and values. To do this, the chapter on human resources has had from the beginning a special relevance, pursuing a policy in this chapter can be described as groundbreaking.

Torrecid has always hired young and inexperienced staff, which were primarily ethical and with high enthusiasm to learn, initiative, sacrifice and leadership, a series of values​​ that together with the internal training in technical, market and company culture, allowed staff to grow and develop within a multinational group as Torrecid by offering multiple and ongoing opportunities for promotion and personal growth.