The businessman and former president of the Madrid employers’ association Fernando Fernández Tapias has died at the age of 84, as confirmed by sources from the Madrid Business Confederation.
Born in Vigo on November 24, 1938, seventh among twelve siblings, Fernández Tapias was a prominent figure in the maritime world, where he rose from the Vigo fish market, where he began working at the age of 15 in his father’s canning factory. He founded the shipping companies F.Tapias, Amura and Roda, as well as canning firms such as Conservas Peña and Conservas Portonovo, dedicated to freezing and canning seafood and fish. He also created Viajes Sandra’s and the maritime section of Bureau Veritas SAF, dedicated to quality control.
The deceased stood out in the business world. He was at the head of the Spanish Shipping Association and between 1985 and 2022 he presided over the Madrid Business Confederation-CEOE. From that position he became vice president of the CEOE. Fernández Tapias was relieved of the Madrid employers’ association after 17 years by Gerardo Díaz Ferrán. At that time he became president of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, until 2006. “He was a businessman who worked for business organizations,” the CEOE highlighted after his death.
Throughout his career he held positions as CEO at Manufacturas Ibéricas (Maniber) or director at Unión Fenosa, Viajes Marsáns and Construcciones OHL. In 1994 he received the Businessman of the Year Award, awarded by the Madrid Chamber of Commerce.
Father of eight children, one of whom died in 2010 while scuba diving, he was married three times. The last one in 2002, with Nuria González.
Fernández Tapias was an active figure in the sports world, linked to Real Madrid. In this club he was part of several boards of directors and became first vice president, always under the guidance of Florentino Pérez. He held this last position until today, as well as that of patron of the Real Madrid Foundation. “He has been an example of loyalty, commitment and dedication. His death is a great loss for Real Madrid and for all of Madrid fans,” the club said in a statement after learning of the death.
