Five years ago, Blanca Sorigué Borrell (La Pobla de Segur, 1973) made headlines for becoming the first woman to direct the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona. In May of this year, she returned to the center of news for being the first woman to hold the vice-presidency of the World Free Zone Organization, the world association of free zones. The headlines also made headlines when she was named the first director of the public company Cimalsa and when she received the Logistics Silver Bullion award because she – again – she was the first woman.
“The day that the headlines stop pointing out that she is the first woman and begin to highlight her worth as a professional will be when we have achieved equality, but we are still light years away,” acknowledges Sorigué, who has become quite a glass ceiling breaker The reality today is that only 6% of the general directorates of companies in Spain are held by women, according to the report Women Matter Spain: Pending Tranches (McKinsey
Sorigué’s path to the top of the world free zones began in La Pobla de Segur (Pallars Jussà), the town where he was born and to which he is still closely linked. “I was a founding member of the Club d’Esquí de la Pobla de Segur and, together with my sister Eva, we volunteered at fairs throughout Catalonia to promote the tourist and gastronomic attractions of our territory,” she recalls.
Although “she still wonders why,” she decided to get a degree in Tourism, although in between she took a sabbatical in which she lived with a foster family in the United States. “It was one of the best years of my life. This experience has served me more than the race, because I came back with a very good level of English”, he affirms. For university internships, he decided to go against the grain. “99% of the offers were from hotels and travel agencies, but I bet on the remaining 1%: the organization of congresses”, he explains.
The course towards this 1% has marked Sorigué’s professional career. “My first paid job was at the Alimentaria Forum, where I learned a lot,” he highlights. But the event with which she is most linked is the International Logistics Fair (SIL Barcelona), which she has directed since she was 30 years old and in which she has participated since its first edition, 25 years ago. In 2018 she also assumed the general management of the Barcelona Meeting Point (BMP) real estate fair and in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, she created the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW), which she also directs. Her last contest, the Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week (BWAW), to which she gave birth in 2021.
Sorigué’s success goes hand in hand with a commitment to continuous training. “I have been trained whenever I could because I am very curious and because I don’t like being labeled, that if you are good for this, you are no longer good for that.” After graduating in Tourism, he completed the General Management Program at IESE, a Master’s in Marketing Management at Pompeu Fabra University and, more recently, the Digital Business Executive Program at the ISDI business school.
His second ingredient for success is effort and sacrifice. “I always try to give my best, much more than what is required of me”, in her own words. On the other hand, sacrifice implies giving up and has an impact on the family environment. “I had my daughters Lila (12 years old) and Ada (8 years old) very late because I wanted to, because professional life conditions you and because reconciliation according to what responsibilities does not exist,” acknowledges the board. Despite the many balances between professional and personal life, Sorigué proudly explains that her daughters “admire her very much”.
