FemCAT

FemCAT — formally the Fundació d'Empresaris de Catalunya (Foundation of Businesspeople of Catalonia) — is a private and independent Catalan foundation created in 2004 that brings together business owners, executives and professionals around a shared civic mission: to help make Catalonia one of the best countries in the world. Its stated ambition is a Catalonia that is competitive, open to the world, entrepreneurial and innovative, socially cohesive and sustainable over time. The foundation describes itself as a positive, forward-looking and active initiative that seeks the adhesion and mobilisation of civil society. According to its own website, FemCAT's members manage more than 500 companies in Catalonia and represent around 10% of Catalonia's GDP, giving the foundation a significant voice in the Catalan business ecosystem. Its members are presented as its principal asset: businesspeople committed to the country, present across the territory, contributing strategic vision, experience and a shared will for transformation. The foundation maintains a territorial presence through informal meeting points known as "FemCAFÈ", which connect members across Catalonia. FemCAT works through projects and programmes in which business and society can collaborate. Its public activity is organised around themes such as education and talent, knowledge transfer, and quality public management. It publishes reports and position notes, organises events and roundtables, and engages with political and parliamentary institutions. Notable recent activity includes the "Parlament i Empresa" programme, which brings the business reality to the Parliament of Catalonia, and the 2026 "Informe Talent Industrial a Catalunya" on industrial talent, produced with AMEC Positive Industry, the Col·legi d'Enginyers Industrials de Catalunya and the Fundació per la Indústria, with KPMG's collaboration. The foundation is governed by a Patronat (board of trustees) and a rotating presidency. It was officially constituted as a private foundation on 12 January 2005 with 23 founding patrons, following the publication of the Manifest de FemCAT in May 2004. Joaquim Boixareu was its first president. Over the years the presidency has rotated regularly among member business leaders, and in 2026 Tatxo Benet, co-founder of Mediapro, took over the presidency. FemCAT remains a private, non-listed entity funded and driven by its members.

FemCAT, formally the Fundació d'Empresaris de Catalunya, emerged from a reflection process begun between 2003 and 2004 by a group of Catalan businesspeople and executives who wanted to improve Catalonia's economic and social trajectory. Inspired by historical examples — the nineteenth-century industrialists who drove the region's economic development and the mid-twentieth-century bourgeoisie that fostered a new period of growth — their ideas were crystallised in the Manifest de FemCAT, published in May 2004. The manifesto set out four founding axes for the initiative. On 12 January 2005, the Fundació Privada d'Empresaris FemCAT was officially constituted with 23 founding patrons. Joaquim Boixareu was appointed first president and Xavier Cambra secretary. The entity grew rapidly: 21 new members joined in 2006 and 32 more in 2007, reaching 89 members by early 2009. Members — prestigious businesspeople and executives — participated actively in designing and developing the foundation's initiatives. To keep operations effective, the pace of growth was moderated, and membership passed 100 in 2015. From its beginnings FemCAT applied a system of regular renewal of its offices. Joaquim Boixareu served as president from 2005 to 2009, followed by Josep Mateu (2009–2011), Carles Sumarroca (2011–2013), Miquel Martí (2013–2015), Ramon Carbonell (2015–2016), Pau Relat (2017–2018), Elena Massot (2019–2021), David Marín (2022–2024) and Oriol Guixà i Arderiu (2024–2026). Xavier Cambra, who had served as Secretary General and taken on executive responsibilities in the early years, was replaced by Immaculada Amat in early 2016. In 2026 Tatxo Benet, co-founder of Mediapro, became president. At the start of 2017 FemCAT had 106 members, of whom 25 formed part of the Patronat. Among the entity's sponsors was the minister Andreu Mas-Colell. Founders of FemCAT include Ramon Roca (Ros Roca), José Miarnau (Comsa), Ramon Carbonell (Copcisa), Xavier Pujol (Ficosa), Albert Esteve (Laboratoris Esteve), Francisco Reynés (Criteria), Rosa Clarà (Rosa Clarà) and Joan Manuel Sanahuja (Sacresa). Key moments in its public history include the "Sortim al món" conference on 26 March 2007, which featured former US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Steve Forbes, president of the Forbes group. On 14 June of the same year the foundation signed a collaboration agreement with the Parliament of Catalonia to bring the business and parliamentary worlds closer together and promote mutual understanding. In 2014 FemCAT was one of the twenty-five business organisations that signed the Manifest del Far in support of the National Pact for the Right to Decide, and it received the Ignasi Pujol entrepreneurship award from the newspaper Ara. In recent years FemCAT has concentrated on education and talent, knowledge transfer and quality public management. Its 2026 Report on Industrial Talent in Catalonia, produced with AMEC Positive Industry, the Col·legi d'Enginyers Industrials de Catalunya and the Fundació per la Indústria with KPMG's collaboration, warned that Catalan industry leaves up to 15,000 vacancies unfilled each year and that the education system covers only 42% of industrial vacancies. The foundation also runs the "Parlament i Empresa" programme, which in 2026 took a delegation of deputies led by Parliament President Josep Rull, together with FemCAT members headed by Tatxo Benet, to visit the La Farga and Bon Preu groups. FemCAT continues to describe itself as a private, independent foundation whose members manage more than 500 companies in Catalonia and represent around 10% of Catalan GDP.

• 2026

  Tatxo Benet becomes president; Report on Industrial Talent in Catalonia published; "Parlament i Empresa" visit to La Farga and Bon Preu

• 2024

  Oriol Guixà i Arderiu becomes president

• 2022

  David Marín becomes president

• 2019

  Elena Massot becomes president

• 2017

  106 members, 25 of whom form the Patronat; Pau Relat becomes president

• 2016

  Immaculada Amat replaces Xavier Cambra as Secretary General

• 2015

  Membership surpasses 100; Ramon Carbonell becomes president

• 2014

  Signs the Manifest del Far supporting the National Pact for the Right to Decide; receives the Ignasi Pujol entrepreneurship award from Ara

• 2013

  Miquel Martí becomes president

• 2011

  Carles Sumarroca becomes president

• 2009

  Membership reaches 89; Josep Mateu becomes president

• 2007

  32 more members join; "Sortim al món" conference held on 26 March with Colin Powell and Steve Forbes; collaboration agreement signed with the Parliament of Catalonia on 14 June

• 2006

  21 new members join the foundation

• 2005

  Fundació Privada d'Empresaris FemCAT officially constituted with 23 founding patrons; Joaquim Boixareu appointed first president

• 2004

  Manifest de FemCAT published, setting out four founding axes

A private, independent and non-partisan foundation of Catalan business leaders acting as a civic and economic think-and-do tank for Catalonia's competitiveness and social progress.

• Manifest de FemCAT

  Founding manifesto published in May 2004 setting out four axes for the foundation's mission.

• Informe Talent Industrial a Catalunya

  2026 report produced with AMEC Positive Industry, Col·legi d'Enginyers Industrials de Catalunya and Fundació per la Indústria, with KPMG collaboration, warning of up to 15,000 unfilled industrial vacancies per year.

• Parlament i Empresa

  Programme bringing the business reality to the Parliament of Catalonia through visits and dialogue with deputies.

• FemCAFÈ

  Territorial meeting points for members across Catalonia, fostering open conversation and belonging.

1. 1FEMCAT | inicifemcat.cat
2. 2FEMCAT | Nota sobre la proposta de reforma del Sistema de Finançament Autonòmic (SFA)femcat.cat
3. 3FEMCAT | Qui somfemcat.cat
4. 4FEMCAT | Acte de presenció de l'Informe sobre el talent Industrial a Catalunyafemcat.cat
5. 5FemCAT - Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6FemCAT - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org