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Isidre Fainé

From Alfawiki
Isidre Fainé i Casas
Born1942
Manresa, Catalonia, Spain
OccupationBanking executive
Known forChairman of La Caixa, president of "la Caixa" Foundation and Criteria CaixaHolding

Isidre Fainé i Casas (born in Manresa, 1942) is a prominent Catalan executive and banking professional. He serves as the chairman of La Caixa.

Biography

Fainé was born to Ramon Fainé Torras and Maria Casas Fosas in Manresa, where he spent his early years before relocating to Barcelona. At the age of 13, while still attending secondary school, he began working by repairing bicycles and motorcycles.

He holds a doctorate in Economic Sciences from the University of Barcelona, completed an ISMP in Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and obtained a Senior Management diploma from IESE Business School.

Banking career

His professional journey in banking commenced in 1964 as director of Investments at Banco Atlántico. By 1969, he had assumed the role of general manager at Banco de Asunción in Paraguay. Upon returning to Barcelona, he occupied several senior positions, including director of personnel at Banca Riva y García (1973), general manager at Banca Jover (1974), and subsequently general manager of Banco Unión (1978).

In 1982, Josep Vilarasau invited him to join "Caixa de Pensions para la Vellesa i d'Estalvis" as deputy general manager. He was promoted to deputy executive general manager in 1991 alongside Antoni Brufau. When Vilarasau took on the presidency in 1999, Fainé became general director and ultimately succeeded him as president in June 2007. Additionally, he led the "la Caixa" Foundation and Criteria CaixaHolding. Fainé resigned from his position as president of CaixaBank in June 2016.

Other positions

Since June 16, 2014, Fainé has chaired the "la Caixa" Foundation, overseeing its separation from the banking institution to establish it as the largest foundation on the European continent and third globally, following the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust. He also presides over the Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks (CECA) and has served as president of the European Savings Banks Group (ESBG) since 2015.

His leadership roles extend to vice presidencies at Telefónica, Abertis, and Grupo Agbar, along with board memberships at both Banco Português de Investimento and the Bank of East Asia. In September 2016, he was appointed president of Gas Natural, presently known as Naturgy. Furthermore, he heads the Spanish Confederation of Managers and Executives (CEDE), the Catalan Federation of Savings Banks, the Spanish Chapter of the Club of Rome, and the Financial Circle. He also holds the vice-presidency of IPEMED (Institute of Prospective Economics du Monde Méditerranéen).

Fainé has been a member of the Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences of Spain since 1992 as well as a member of the Royal Academy of Doctors of Spain.

Publications

Notable works include:

  • 1987 – Redes estratégicas colectivas
  • 1992 – Liderazgo y progreso económico (co-authored with Jaume Gil Aluja)
  • 1997 – Un alegato a favor del empleo (co-authored with Joan Bassegoda i Nonell)
  • 2001 – La empresa familiar y su mundialización (co-authored with Antón Pont i Amenós)
  • 2003 – Pasión por la banca (co-authored with Robert Tornabell)

Awards

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