The Family Business Institute (IEF) has chosen Ignacio Rivera as a candidate for president. Rivera (A Coruña, 1965), who presides and directs Corporación Hijos de Rivera, will take over from Andrés Sendagorta, president of the Basque engineering company Sener, who ends his two-year term next year.
Rivera’s company is known for popular beverage brands such as Estrella Galicia. The future president must try to reach a rapprochement with the head of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. In the last five editions, the President of the Executive has not participated in the annual congress held by the IEF and the presence of ministers has been scarce.
Rivera will be the 16th president of the association, promoted from Catalonia in 1992 and in which 40% of the members are Catalan. Six of the presidents of the IEF have been businessmen from this community, among them the first three: Leopoldo Rodés (Havas), Mariano Puig (Puig) and José Maria Serra (Occident). Before Sendagorta, Marc Puig (Puig) also held the presidency between 2020 and 2022.
The IEF is an independent business association, which is non-profit and does not receive public subsidies. Its one hundred partners are the main family businesses in the country. In addition, there are a total of 18 territorial Family Business associations linked to the IEF spread throughout Spain (including Catalonia), which bring together nearly 1,800 family businesses. In recent months, the IEF has taken a position on current issues. In November, for example, they demanded that the positions of the judiciary on the agreements for the investiture of President Sánchez be taken into consideration.
The proposal for the appointment of the new president was adopted after consultation with the institutional commission and in accordance with the statutory framework of the association, the institution explained in a statement. The members of the Family Business Institute will proceed to elect the new president at their next General Assembly, which will be held in Madrid in May.
Rivera belongs to the fourth generation of the owner family and is the great-grandson of its founder. In addition to producing beer, Hijos de Rivera includes among its activities the water sector (with brands such as Cabreiroá) and the distribution of beverages. The company had a turnover of 724 million euros in 2022 and obtained a net profit of 83.9 million. Its brands are present in more than 70 countries.
Ignacio Rivera joined the company in 1990 and in 1994 assumed commercial and marketing management. In 2016 he was named Leader of the Year by the Industry and Distribution Leaders Club, and in 2017 he received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
