Montserrat Vendrell i Rius took office as the new president of the UPF Board of Trustees at a ceremony held on Friday, 22 March at 10:30 am in the multipurpose hall of the Mercè Rodoreda building on the Ciutadella campus.

The event was presided by M. Àngels Chacón, minister of Economy and Knowledge of the Catalan Government, and was attended by Jaume Casals, UPF rector, and Núria Basi, the outgoing president of the Board of Trustees.

It was attended by more than fifty people, including Francesc Xavier Grau, secretary for Universities and Research; and Ignasi Costas, UPF alumnus of Law, member of the law firm Rousaud Costas Duran, a recently appointed member of the UPF Board of Trustees, representing the Board of Governors in place of Josep Tarradas.

Also present were various officers and members of the UPF university community, members of the University’s Board of Trustees (of the Plenary, of the various committees and of the Social and Business Forum), as well as representatives of other boards of trustees of Catalan universities and from the Catalan university environment.

After the opening of the ceremony by the rector Jaume Casals, Pere Torra, UPF general secretary, read out the agreement by the Board of Governors of 25 February 2019 appointing Montserrat Vendrell as president of the UPF Board of Trustees. Then Montserrat Vendrell and M. Àngels Chacón signed the records of the assumption of her new duties.

Núria Basi, outgoing president of the Board of Trustees, began a block of institutional addresses. “When I accepted this position I could not have imagined that it would have such a payback”, she commented at the start of her speech, in which she gave thanks for the support received from all groups of the university community, the governing team, and bodies, institutions and individuals with whom she has worked most closely over the years.

“At the Board of Trustees we have worked to find solutions to complex situations, and to the economic and social difficulties of recent years. We have made the voice of the Catalan society heard at the University, to which we have contributed values, a view from the outside and we have opened up to the most productive social sectors and sectors of expertise”, she highlighted.

Montserrat Vendrell, the new president of the Board of Trustees, emphasized her links with the University as an alumna of a UPF-BSM master’s degree.  “What you perceive about UPF are its own values that set it apart, that it is a prestigious brand and that its members have a very strong sense of belonging. On this basis, we can build good projects”, she affirmed.

“From the UPF Board of Trustees I hope to weave a solid strategy of transfer and innovation. It is a space in which we can improve, as well as contribute to the entrepreneurial spirit”.

She then recalled the university’s mission, which focuses on training free, global citizens, on creating knowledge and transferring it to society, and that of the Board of Trustees, which seeks to strengthen and promote the relationship between the university and the society: “From the UPF Board of Trustees I hope to weave a solid strategy of transfer and innovation. It is a space in which we can improve, as well as contribute to the entrepreneurial spirit”.

Finally, Montserrat Vendrell mentioned the unique opportunity presented by advancing the Ciutadella of knowledge project: “UPF can play a key role in it. It will be a priority project during my term”, she assured. “We can make a better country to the extent that we can have a stronger university connected to the society around us”, she concluded.

After thanking Núria Basi for her generosity and commitment throughout these years, in her speech the minister, Maria Àngels Chacón, congratulated UPF on its reputation, its work, its spirit of continuous improvement and its ambition in new projects.

Like Montserrat Vendrell, she also mentioned the Ciutadella of knowledge project: “You can count on the support and commitment of the ministry, we will be right beside you to develop it, it is a matter in which we are aligned”, she stressed.

Finally, she stated that under the National Pact for the Knowledge Society that is being promoted by the Government of Catalonia, she hopes that the new president of the UPF Board of Trustees can provide great help, especially with regard to the productive economy and transfer: “Montserrat can help us a lot in the Pact. She will be a person of unquestionable value, we look forward to her involvement”, she asserted.

The speech by Jaume Casals, UPF rector, was the last of the event. “Over the last six years that I have been working with Núria, I have always had the feeling of reassurance. I value greatly the affection and friendship, but above all, the trust, which is rather scarce nowadays”.

Montserrat Vendrell, the third consecutive women to hold the presidency of the UPF Board of Trustees

Montserrat Vendrell i Rius (Barcelona, 1964) is the third consecutive woman to hold the position of president of the University’s Board of Trustees, following Núria Basi (2008-2019) and Mercè Sala (2004-2008).

She is a partner in Alta Life Sciences, a venture capital fund based in Barcelona that invests in life sciences companies.  She has previously been CEO of Biocat (2007-2015), of the Barcelona Science Park (2014-2015) and of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, BIST (2015-2016).

A PhD in biology from the University of Barcelona (1991), she spent a postdoctoral period at Hoffmann La Roche (NJ, USA, 1992-1994) and at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC, 1995-1997). She has a master’s degree in Science Communication from UPF-Barcelona School of Management (1997), and an Executive Degree in General Management (PDG) from the IESE (2007) and promoted by ESADE (2015).

She currently also chairs the Executive Committee of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation and is a member of the Board of Directors of RACC and of the Board of Trustees of EADA.