The XVIII edition of the COACB Awards took place on June 5th at the Royal Palace of Pedralbes in Barcelona. Once again, the Official College of Commercial Agents of Barcelona (COACB) organized an awards ceremony to recognize the work of the commercial sector in Catalonia. This professional and institutional event was attended by various political representatives and members of the civil and business society of Catalonia, including Jordi Torrades from the General Directorate of Commerce of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Miquel Rodríguez, Manager of Economic Promotion of the Barcelona City Council, Josep-Ramon Mut, President of the Commerce, Consumer Affairs, and Public Health Area of the Barcelona Provincial Council, and Ricard Penas, President of COACB.
The COACB 2024 Awards were presented in four different categories: Company, Career, Innovation, and Young Professional. Additionally, a special award was given to Fira de Barcelona as a collaborating entity. The journalist Xavi Coral hosted the event.
The first award presented was in the Innovation category, aimed at promoting business development initiatives and highlighting the creation of an innovative commercial agency model. For his passion and commitment to offering 100% ecological and high-performance products in different sectors, the winner in this category was member Jordi Mayral. The awardee is a professional in the ecological cleaning sector and represents a brand that merges science and nature to offer innovative probiotic cleaning products, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and environmental care.
Next, the Young Professional category was presented. The awarded member was Sergi Molinero, who works in the energy sector as an advisor for small and medium-sized enterprises. He founded his company more than six years ago and currently leads a team of seven professionals. His ability to innovate and digitalize the service, helping companies improve the economic conditions of their supplies while trusting a professional accredited advisor, was highly valued.
Then, the Career category was presented, aimed at recognizing a professional career that has added value and prestige to the profession. In this case, the award went to member Feliciano Pozo. The awardee belongs to the chemicals and plastics sector, has been associated with COACB for more than 29 years, and has been working in the same sector for 40 years, thus thoroughly knowing the market he addresses. Throughout these years, he has evolved within his profession and has been part of the technical and commercial teams of the leading and most prestigious companies in the sector.
The next award presented was in the Company category. The recipient was Natalia Galán, who is part of the management team of the company Barcelona SAE. This company aims to train foreign university students by adapting its educational programs to allow them to study in Barcelona. In 2020, a key moment in its expansion, it started a collaboration with COACB to carry out these programs daily from its headquarters. Additionally, in recent years, they have maintained strong growth in these educational programs and joint collaboration.
To conclude, the COACB Awards committee wanted to give a special award to a collaborating entity, Fira de Barcelona, highlighting its director Constantí Serrallonga, who accepted the award. This entity was officially founded in 1932, alongside COACB, and in these 92 years of shared history, they have actively collaborated. Moreover, this year they have made a leap and commitment to collaborate and work together by reviving the Expohogar Show, which will take place from October 5th to 7th, 2024, and creating a project that promotes the College as a promoter and organizer of this and other shows, reinforcing a new level of trust.