“Stop the clocks and silence the phones,” tells us the British poet W.H. Auden for times like this. It’s been 20 years but I still remember it like it was yesterday. I had bought a suit at Zara on Princesa Street with a friend’s money. My finances that month were at their limit and I needed it to go to work the next day, because the consultants in Llorente
The next morning I took the bus and arrived at Hermanos Bécquer, 4. The first headquarters of LLYC, located in front of the US embassy. Quite a declaration of intentions. The legend of that small street in Madrid told us from the provinces that “la collares”, Franco’s wife, lived there – and it is true that we once saw Pocholo Martínez-Bordiú, just as he was going out to eat a sandwich in the José Luis, in a house next to the office, to Leandro and his characteristic mustache, the bastard son of Alfonso XIII. In that environment your imagination flew. Before entering the office, next to the firm’s logo and with very careful lighting, “Communication Consultants” was solemnly indicated as if we were lawyers. That approach was also a great novelty. We organized ourselves by color: red, blue, gold team. The methodology, everything, was very special. In that magical place we dreamed of building the future. This is how we felt when we went from one floor to another with our Reports. And it really was. As it is in Lagasca.
Well, in the middle of the door, without mercy, the bottom of my left foot capitulated. I tried, crouching, to fix the hem as best I could. The world fell on me, as I noticed someone rush in. That first day I didn’t even want to move from my desk. The bottom of my foot was miles long. However, protocol at LLYC required knowing the bosses. I went up to the sixth floor and there was the CEO having a coffee. He smiled and told me: “Man, you’re the one with the bottom of the pants.” That was the first time I saw José Antonio Llorente and the clock stopped.
We became very friends. And he gave me the best advice of all: the priority is not to stay still. The era of simple solutions to simple problems is over. And in many of our conversations over the years, stories emerged that featured two extraordinary people, who in their early twenties and very young, led the operations and expansion of the company throughout Latin America: Alejandro Romero and Luisa García, the current leaders. from LLYC. Today they are the first marketing, communication and public affairs firm in Spain, Portugal and Latin America, listed on the stock market. The best.
This story is that of many young people, because José Antonio was a lot for all of us who started in Madrid before and now. But also for journalists, businessmen and professionals of all generations for more than 30 years. An exceptional man with very high values ??and intelligence. Therefore, stop the clocks, silence the phones. He leaves the best of the best. Let’s give a huge hug to his wife Irene Rodríguez, his daughter Mara, his grandson, his mother and his brothers. My professional father, a formidable person, is leaving. And I look at my bottom pants again, friend. And I smile and look at the sky.
