Aster Awards at ESIC Catalonia, a special edition and a night full of emotions

On February 8, the 15th edition of the ESIC Catalonia Aster Awards took place at the Convent dels Àngels in Barcelona. These awards, which have been held since 1982 at national level, aim to recognize the merits of individuals and organizations in their professional activity, with the aim of promoting the integration between academic training and business life by promoting socially responsible values and actions.

On the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of the awards in Catalonia, Gemma Tarragó, director of ESIC Catalonia, wanted to pay tribute to those winners of previous editions, through the projection of a commemorative video and also took the opportunity to highlight the role of ESIC, where she stated "ESIC's mission is to transform people, future professionals, and therefore the transfer of knowledge and values plays a key role."

In this edition, the Aster Award for the Business Trajectory of Large Companies was given to Fira Barcelona, for being a successful example of public-private collaboration and for its economic and social contribution to the city of Barcelona, while the Aster Award for the Business Trajectory of Medium-sized Companies went to Cottet, for its recognized history of more than 120 years and the value of family business culture. David de Antonio Oña, CEO of Cottet Óptica y Audiología, highlighted the role of the company as the most progressive social value. Constantí Serrallonga, general director of Fira de Barcelona dedicated the Award to the Fira team, highlighting their constant work and commitment to the institution.

The Cercle d'Economia received the Aster Award for Business Communication for its communicative work in defense of the integration of Catalonia and Spain as a whole into the European framework, in relation to economic reforms. Juan María Hernández Puértolas, chairman's advisor at CriteriaCaixa, received the Aster Professional Communication Award for his extensive career as a communicator in business and the media. Jaume Guardiola, president of the Cercle d'Economia, thanked ESIC for this recognition of the organization he presides and proudly highlighted the work carried out by the Cercle d'Economia.

The Aster Marketing Award category went to Futbol Club Barcelona and Spotify, for the Motomami campaign that promoted the FCB brand globally.

The Diputació de Barcelona, the Diputació de Girona and Nestlé Waters received the Aster Marketing and Values Award for their commitment to Climate Action through the agreement signed between the Montseny Natural Park and Viladrau. This category aims to bring the academic world closer to the business world, with ESIC Barcelona students being on the jury for these awards. 

The Aster Digital Innovation Award was presented to the company ELEM Biotech for its real impact on people's lives and the large innovation and technology component on which the project is based.

The last award of the evening was received by the entrepreneur Françoise de Valera who was distinguished with the Aster Award for Best Entrepreneur, for her project Pack2Earth, for being a benchmark in the manufacture of packaging with compostable materials that reduce the use of plastic and other polluting materials. Its co-founder, Françoise de Valera, collected the award and stressed the importance of projects that care for the environment and the need for society to get involved.

Mr. Eduardo Gómez Martín, president of ESIC University, reflected on the importance of having a purpose in business activity, as well as in our daily lives, and dedicated some emotional words to each of the evening's award winners.  

The executive director of ACCIÓ, Joan Romero i Circuns, closed the awards ceremony, recalling the importance of having references in all sectors of activity and highlighting the role that each of the winners plays in the Catalan business fabric.