The #CEOPorLaDiversidad Alliance addresses the talent of generation Z and their entry into the labour market

Promoted by the Adecco Foundation and the CEOE Foundation, this alliance, a pioneer in Europe, held its annual CEO meeting. The meeting was attended by influencer Andrea Ramos, social media content creator Alan 'El Ruedas', and philosopher Diego S. Garrocho, who spoke about the role of young people in today's society and in the business world in particular.

The #CEOPorLaDiversidad Alliance held a new annual meeting at the Rosewood Villa Magna hotel in Madrid. This initiative, a pioneer in Europe and promoted by the Adecco Foundation and the CEOE Foundation, is supported by 81 top executives and managers from leading companies in our country. The meeting, which focused on analysing Generation Z as a new workforce, brought together 27 representatives from the following companies: Accenture, AENOR, Agilent Technologies Spain S.L., Air Liquide, Alstom Transporte, S.A., Arcelormittal Spain Holding, Atlantic Copper, Bahía de Bizkaia Gas S.L., Baker McKenzie, Banca March, BASF Española SA, Capgemini, EXOLUM, HAYA REAL ESTATE, JUSTESA IMAGEN, S.A.U., Kapsch TrafficCom, Mahou San Miguel, MAVE Aeronáutica (TRIGO GROUP), REDEIA, SACYR, Seguros Santa Lucía, Siemens S.A., Stratesys Technology Solutions, S.L., The Adecco Group, Uría Menéndez Abogados, Verallia and WORLDLINE IBERIA.

This Alliance, which started at the end of 2019, aims to unite the frontline management of companies operating in Spain around a common and innovative vision of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (De&I), urging them to promote strategies that contribute to business excellence, inclusion, sustainability, and competitiveness.

The conference, chaired by the President of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez, and the President of the Adecco Foundation, Enrique Sánchez, was also attended by Clara Sanz, Secretary General for Vocational Training within the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.

Francisco Mesonero, CEO of the Adecco Foundation, welcomed the attendees and stressed the importance of properly managing diversity in companies to achieve excellence in a globalised and digitalised context.  He stated that generation Z joins the workforce with new values, new ways of understanding work and new ways of consuming and relating to brands. “We currently coexist in the labour market with four very different generations. We have to know how to manage talent in order for collaborative models to work properly and for competitiveness in Spain to be optimal. There is a lot of talk about generation Z and its digital DNA, but this is a legacy from the previous generation that all companies are already managing. I think the biggest challenge is to respond appropriately to their way of understanding work and their commitment to diversity and the environment,” he said.

Before turning the floor to the conference speakers, Mesonero analysed the work of the Alliance over the last year, as well as the challenges that will be addressed during 2023: “We enter into our fourth year of workaimed at attaining one goal: to make our companies more inclusive and our society fairer. This will undoubtedly lead to greater business competitiveness. The challenges we set ourselves to achieve this goal are as exciting as they are complex, and I can think of no better way to fulfil them than through the meetings and synergies provided by this Alliance.”

Three young voices and their vision of the world and of the corporate world
The main theme chosen by the 2023 #CEOPorLaDiversidad 2023 meeting was the generational factor and, specifically, how Generation Z will transform our companies. They are also known as ‘centennials’ or Gen Zers, and were born between 1997 and 2012, which means that they are already entering the labour market. They are mainly characterised for being the first 100% digital native generation, for their global vision of the world, their commitment to diversity, their defence of the environment and for having been born and having grown up with a lot of uncertainty. The biggest challenge this generation faces is the youth unemployment rate, with Spain reporting the highest in the European Union: 29.2% (according to Eurostat, the European average stands at 15%).

To learn about their concerns, their vision of the world (global, digital, and sustainable), as well as what they expect from companies, the Alliance spoke to Alan “El Ruedas”, a young creator of content for social networks; Andrea Ramos, head of recruitment and influencer; and Diego S. Garrocho, philosopher and professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM). The three took part in a discussion mediated by Pablo García, Director of Communication and Marketing at the Adecco Foundation. 

Social networks are, undoubtedly, the communication channels through which young people are most active. The first two speakers of the day illustrated this. From his profile on TikTok, Alan “El Ruedas” shares his experience of living with a disability with his one million followers every day. Four years ago, he suffered a spinal cord injury while doing an acrobatic stunt; since then, he uses this platform to fight against the stereotypes associated with people with disabilities and, also, with his own generation. For her part, Andrea Ramos, from her Instagram profile (@reclutandovoy), helps to improve the employability of those who are looking for a job with tips on how to make this process more effective, using the formats that young Zs consume most. Through simple videos and tutorials, she gives tips on how to make CVs attractive to companies and how to manage their personal brand.

Meanwhile, Diego S. Garrocho wanted to address the situation of this generation and what the future may hold for them, their hopes and expectations in an uncertain context: “It is not true that we are dealing with a generation without values, they have a clear ethical purpose, and I believe that the corporate world can do a lot to ensure that their vision is valued and taken into account in diversity strategies”.

Antonio Garamendi, President of CEOE, was in charge of closing the conference, and he chose to highlight the value of the alliance that #CEOPorLaDiversidad represents, precisely because diversity is “the great search for talent”. “The sum of all that is different is what really makes us grow as companies”, he added.

Currently, a total of 81 companies and their CEOs make up this alliance:

ALSA; Francisco Iglesias
ACCENTURE; Domingo Mirón Domínguez
AENOR; Rafael García Meiro
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES SPAIN S.L.; María Ángeles Díaz
AIR LIQUIDE; Benedicte Levinson
AIRBUS; Jorge Caro Terrón
ALSTOM TRANSPORTE, S.A.; Leopoldo Maestu Miedes
AMERICAN EXPRESS ESPAÑA; Juan Ortí Ochoa de Ocáriz
AON; Jacobo Hornedo 
AQUALIA; Félix Parra Mediavilla
ARCELORMITTAL SPAIN HOLDING; Jesús Izcue Irigoyen 
ATLANTIC COPPER; Javier Targhetta
AXA España; Olga Sánchez
AYESA; José Luis Manzanares
BAHÍA DE BIZKAIA GAS S.L.; Javier López Nieto
BAKER MCKENZIE; Rodrigo Ogea Ruiz
BALEARIA; Adolfo Utor
BANCA MARCH; José Luis Acea Rodriguez
BANCO MEDIOLANUM; Igor Garzesi
BANCO SABADELL    ; César González-Bueno
BANKINTER; Pedro Guerrero
BASF Española SA; Carles Navarro Vigo
BBVA; Pello (Peio) Belausteguigoitia
BECTON DICKINSON; Lourdes López
BROSETA ABOGADOS; Manuel Broseta/ Rosa Vidal
CAIXABANK; Gonzalo Gortázar
CAJA RURAL DEL SUR; José Luís García-Palacios Álvarez
CAMPOFRÍO; Javier Dueñas
CAPGEMINI; Luis Abad
CASH LEPE; Mabel Díaz Orta
CBRE; Vicente Redondo
EL CORTE INGLÉS; dirección general
ELECNOR; Rafael Martín de Bustamante
ENDESA, S.A.; José D. Bogas Gálvez
EXOLUM; Jorge Lanza Perea
EY;    Federico Linares
GENERALI;    Santiago Villa
GESTAMP;    Francisco José Riberas
GLOBAL OMNIUM;    Dionisio García Comín
GRUPO ANTOLÍN; Ramón Sotomayor Jauregui
GRUPO IBEROSTAR; Sabina Fluxà Thienemann
Grupo OHLA; José Antonio Fernández Gallar
GRUPO PIÑERO; Encarna Piñero
GRUPO RENAULT; José Vicente de los Mozos
GRUPO ZURICH ESPAÑA; Vicente Cancio García
HAYA REAL ESTATE; Enrique Dancausa Treviño
HP; Inés Bermejo
IBERCAJA; Víctor M. Iglesias Ruiz
IKEA; Nurettin Acar
IVECO; Ángel Rodríguez Lagunilla
JUSTESA IMAGEN, S.A.U.; Gianpaolo Armando
KAPSCH TRAFFICCOM; Javier Aguirre Heriz
KEYSIGHT; Judith Contreras Rosell
LAFARGEHOLCIM ESPAÑA; Carmen Díaz Canabal
MAERSK; Diego Perdones
MAHOU SAN MIGUEL; Eduardo Petrossi
MAVE AERONÁUTICA (TRIGO GROUP); Antonio Peco Pinto
MELIA HOTELS INTERNACIONAL; Gabriel Escarrer Jaume
MONDELEZ; Nicola Caracino
NATURGY; Francisco Reynés Massanet
NAVANTIA; Ricardo Domínguez García–Baquero
NESTLÉ ESPAÑA; Jordi Llach 
OHLA; José Antonio Fernández Gallar
ORANGE ESPAGNE; Jean-François Fallacher
PATENTES TALGO; Gonzalo Urquijo Fernández de Araoz
Pfizer, SLU; Sergio Rodríguez Márquez
REDEIA; Roberto García Merino
SACYR; Manuel Manrique Cecilia
SAINT-GOBAIN; Jean-Luc Gardaz
SCHINDLER; José Manuel Nieto Millán
SEAT; Laura Carnicero
SEGUROS SANTALUCÍA; Andrés Romero Peña
SIDENOR ACEROS ESPECIALES; José Antonio Jainaga
SIEMENS S.A.; Agustín Escobar Cañadas
SMURFIT KAPPA; Ignacio Sevillano
STRATESYS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, S.L.; Carlos De Pedro Guri
THE ADECCO GROUP; Iker Barricat Beascoechea
URÍA MENÉNDEZ ABOGADOS; Jesús Remón
VERALLIA; Paulo Pinto
VISCOFAN SA; José Antonio Canales
WORLDLINE IBERIA; Martín Javier Aranda González

About the #CEOPorLaDiversidad Alliance

The mission of this Alliance led by the Adecco Foundation and the CEOE Foundation is to unite the CEOs of the leading companies in Spain around a common and innovative vision of diversity, equity and inclusion (De&I), acting as drivers and ambassadors to help accelerate the development of strategies that contribute to business excellence, the competitiveness of talent in Spain and the reduction of inequality and exclusion in Spanish society.