This Monday and Tuesday, Sener held the fifth edition of its biannual monographic meeting on the future of innovation, the ‘V Sener Innovation Forum’. The event, which brought together more than 200 professionals and experts at the San Mamés stadium on October 9 and 10, included the participation of Estíbaliz Hernáez, deputy counselor of Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Basque Government, who was in charge of leading the opening ceremony.

The Forum offered more than a dozen discussion panels on topics such as energy (for example, green hydrogen and offshore wind), autonomous navigation on unmanned platforms, connectivity in the current geopolitical context or digitalization (more specifically, cognitive infrastructures, 5G and hyperconnectivity, data centers as strategic energy value or the application of disruptive technologies, such as quantum computing, cybersecurity and robotics). Likewise, one of the central axes of the event has been the transversality and synergy between these and other sectors and technologies.

As explained by Òscar Juliá, director of Innovation and Digitalization, and Ferrán Costas, director of Innovation and Technology, innovation plays a determining role today in the field of engineering and, more specifically, in when proposing more sustainable technical solutions for society’s modern challenges. As an example, they presented the latest R&D efforts of the group, which, in the last year, invested more than 16 million in this area; Likewise, nearly a third of the staff (made up of more than 3,000 professionals on 5 continents) participated in R&D projects.

The group took advantage of the occasion to recognize the technical excellence of nine of its engineers. Thus, on Monday a recognition ceremony took place for Sener’s Chief Technical Engineers (CTE), a position awarded biannually by Sener to those professionals with outstanding knowledge in their respective fields of activity, specifically, space mechanisms , railways, geotechnics and tunnels, acoustics, noise and vibrations, energy, chemical processes, installations and safety in tunnels, electronic engineering of electromechanical systems and control engineering.

In the last of the two days, some of the most relevant points for the development of the digital economy were discussed, such as the role of clean and renewable energy sources in meeting the needs of data centers (area in which Sener is present since the acquisition of Quark, a leader in the design of these facilities), the deployment of 5G or the impact of cognitive infrastructures for the growth and consolidation of smart cities. The event was closed by Andrés Sendagorta, president of Sener, who stressed the relevance of innovation as an engine of growth and competitiveness for organizations and for the development of their people and talent.

Gabriel Alarcón has been appointed Corporate Managing Director for the entire Sener group. Alarcón, who until now held the position of Managing Director of the Engineering area, will be responsible, along with Sener’s CEO, of leading and coordinating the global strategy of Sener, which currently employs more than 3,000 highly qualified professionals worldwide. His appointment reflects the group’s need to shore up its corporate structure, given Sener’s organic and inorganic growth over the last few years. This way, from his new position, Gabriel Alarcón will seek to promote synergies between the various business areas of Sener: aerospace and defence, mobility, energy, renewable investments, advanced facilities – including the recently acquired Quark – marine and digital.

In his previous stage as Managing Director of the Engineering area, he completed the reorganization of the mobility and energy business subsidiaries; the acquisition of Tactix in Australia and Quark in Spain, and the strategic reorientation of the energy business, among other achievements. Before that, he coordinated the restructuring of the Engineering department, which included the launch of the mobility, energy, and innovation technology units. His work has been essential to reviving and promoting the culture of innovation and digitization in the group.

Sener faces an ambitious 2025 strategic plan, which anticipates the group to grow significantly, both in its current businesses and in new areas of technology. This growth will be driven by strong investment in people, technological innovation, and corporate acquisitions. The current order portfolio exceeds 1 billion euros, a record for all major businesses, and represents a broad spectrum of international projects.

Gabriel Alarcón started his career at Sener in 1995. Since then, except for a short period at ALSTOM, he has held different positions of responsibility in Sener, in technical, project management, engineering and general management areas, in sectors with a relevant technological, innovation and sustainability component. He was, among others, the Managing Director of Engineering and Director of Sener in Catalonia. He has a PhD in Mechanical Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), and he is a graduate of the General Management Program at the IESE Business School.

The Sener engineering and technology group has appointed Fernando Abril-Martorell as a member of its Board of Directors. Abril-Martorell will provide his extensive experience in sectors with a high technological and innovative component for the benefit of the Group and its stakeholders.

Sener is a leading supplier of innovative solutions to complex engineering and technology projects. It currently employs nearly 3,000 professionals on five continents, experts in the aerospace and defense, energy, marine and digital markets, as well as in mobility and infrastructure. In this last field, Sener strengthened its value proposition in May 2023 with the acquisition of the company Quark, a leader in data center engineering.

The appointment will allow Abril-Martorell to share his knowledge and experience leading and advising top companies that, like Sener, face major technological challenges in the sectors in which they operate.

In the words of Abril-Martorell, this appointment brings with it “enormous responsibility and a challenge to collaborate in a company I have always admired for its technological vocation, its enormous human talent and its ethics and social commitment.”

Since June 2022, Abril-Martorell has been the CEO of Urbaser, a task he combines with his duties as a director at Ence and Adevinta. He was previously the Chairman of Indra (2015-2021), CEO of Grupo Prisa (2011-2014) and CEO of Credit Suisse in Spain and Portugal (2005-2011). He also held the positions of Chief Financial Officer (1997-2000) and CEO (2000-2003) of the Telefónica Group, where he landed after eleven years at JP Morgan offices in Madrid, New York and London. Abril-Martorell has a degree in Law and Business Administration from ICADE (Madrid).