“We want to share the transformation we experienced at IESE”

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Israel Burón (EMBA ’15)

“We want to share the transformation we experienced at IESE”

With the mind of an engineer and the soul of an architect, Israel Burón (EMBA ’15) is passionate about entrepreneurship and dedicated to his most important life project: his family. Burón expresses an enormous respect for his origins: for all of the steps and stages that have unfolded in his career to bring him to where he is today.

Specifically, he is at TBA Group, the firm he founded in 2009 with partner Francesc Montolio (EMBA ’16). “What started as a small engineering study has become a company with 35 employees on three continents. Through various platforms, we manage the entire value chain of the asset; that is: design, construction, maintenance, operation and investment of a building,” explains Burón.

TBA Group has a strong social commitment, and the company has been linked to IESE for a year: “For some time we’ve been collaborating with various NGOs in developing countries. But when my partner and I finished the EMBA, we realized that part of our donations could move in another direction that was equally valuable. We believe that the best way to give back to society is to contribute to the areas that have had the biggest impact on us,” he says. For this reason, they opted for helping others through education: “The EMBA had an impact on us from the first day to the last, for two years that were tough but incredible. And what could be better than helping people like us to grow through knowledge? We opted to help through scholarships for students like we were, students who want to follow the same steps and grow in the same way. The goal is to help them make values the core of their professional ecosystem. This is a vision that, for us, no school expresses like IESE does,” he says.

GROWING WITH THEIR FEET ON THE GROUND

lRaised in a family of modest means, Burón graduated in Industrial Engineering for Construction from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and underwent specialized training at Lund University (Sweden), as part of one of the first generations to take part in a then little-known program called Erasmus: “In Sweden, I went through a transformation that foreshadowed the one I would later experience in the EMBA. My world view expanded so much that I grew exponentially,” he says. Years later, he began an even more important educational experience, when it became clear that his company’s momentum required new management knowledge: “As we saw new markets opening up, we realized that we needed education, especially in accounting and finance. I chose IESE because of its international focus, but the transformation I experienced went much further. IESE’s program demanded the maximum of me but helped me make progress on all levels.”

Ever aware of his origins, Israel Burón is a leader who is much more motivated by collaborating with others than by focusing on his personal income: “We want to help other people enhance their personal growth and professional development, through IESE and through all of the other paths we discover,” he says. This collaborative spirit is also reflected in a project the company will launch in the coming years: a business incubator where firms will share their knowledge with young entrepreneurs.

ISRAEL BURÓN (EMBA ’15), WHOSE TBA GROUP CONTRIBUTES TO IESE SCHOLARSHIPS. AN

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER, BURÓN FOUNDED THE COMPANY WITH FRANCESC MONTOLIO (EMBA ’16). THEY JOINED THE IESE PARTNER COMPANIES TO CONTRIBUTE TO FINANCIAL AID FOR EMBA AND MBA STUDENTS.

IN MEMORIAM:

Prof. Josep Riverola Four Decades of Dedication and Commitment

“P eople are not just labor. People are individuals that work with the company in a desire to serve society.” Josep Riverola words, published in an Alumni Magazine article for the IESE’s 50th anniversary, bring us closer to the professor after the sad news of his passing (see the full article at www.iese.edu/articleprofRiverola). Prof. Riverola died on August 10 at age 77 in Barcelona. Emeritus professor in the department of production, technology and operations management at IESE, he devoted more than half of his life to research and teaching.

Josep Riverola held a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the ETSII at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and a Ph.D. in operations research from Stanford University. His long and fruitful relationship with IESE began in 1964, when he joined the school as a research assistant. Four years later he was named assistant professor of IESE, following his time at Yale University, having earned a scholarship from the National Science Foundation for a doctoral fellowship.

He attended the PDG program in 1968 and over the following decades became a fundamental pillar of the IESE community, known both for his intellectual brilliance and for his humanity.

Josep Riverola was associate director of general management programs in 1969 and of the Ph.D. program at IESE from 1971 to 1979, the year in which he became head of the school library until 1982. Four years later, he moved to the Madrid campus. He was also the holder of the Alcatel Chair of Technology and Operations Management at IESE from 1988 to 2006.

His dozens of books, articles and cases covered a multitude of topics, from technology management to supply chains. He was also interested in the study of culture as a force for social and economic development. PIONEER OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES In 1969, Profs. Josep Riverola, Josep Faus and Antoni Subirà co-led the series “Computers: What entrepreneurs should know,” within the framework of the IESE Continuous Education Program (now the Alumni Learning Program). This series, also featuring Prof. Arthur Schleifer of Harvard Business School, was very successful. As a result of their knowledge, Profs. Riverola, Faus and Subirà advised IESE on the purchase of the school’s first computer.

Years later, between 1993 and 1995, Prof. Riverola was in charge of the computer center of the Higher Commercial Management School (HCMS) of Moscow. Josep Riverola was a visiting professor at universities and business schools around the world, including AESE in Portugal, LBS in Nigeria, IPADE in Mexico, IAE in Argentina, IDE in Ecuador, ISE in Brazil and CEIBS in China.

With almost four decades of experience as a professor of production, technology and operations management at IESE and UPC, he also engaged in extensive consulting work for more than 50 companies. He was head of military and aerospace systems at INISEL (the state-owned electronics and systems firm in Madrid). Throughout his career, he founded and ran several small consulting firms specializing in IT, healthcare and industrial sectors, both in Spain and Latin America.

In recognition of his prolific professional career, on December 21, 1989 he was awarded the Silver Medal from the University of Navarra. Below, the fond memories of his classmates pay homage to a professor whose talent and personality have left an indelible mark on IESE.

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PEOPLE

1. Josep Riverola is handed the PDG diploma by Antonio Valero, the first dean of IESE, after completing the program in June of 1965. 2. Josep Riverola was one of the promoters of new technologies at IESE. In this image from September 1970, he is working on a computer next to Prof. Rafael Andreu, in building B of the Barcelona campus. 3. Holder of a Ph.D. from Stanford University, he was photographed here with fellow faculty at the graduation of the Executive MBA program in Madrid in June 2011.

Lifelong friendship

Antoni Subirà, emeritus professor of financial management

It began in September 1957, on day one of classes for first-year engineering in Terrassa. I met a very young Josep Riverola. We were both 17 years old, just teenagers, and we started our higher education with about 30 equally inexperienced classmates. We sympathized with each other and thus began what would become a deep friendship that lasted until his death a few weeks ago.

The five-year program meant a daily relationship with Josep; commuting from Barcelona to Terrassa and back, quick lunches in some cafeteria or diner near the school, the intense coexistence between student friends that would gradually become a relationship that not only encompassed the studies we had in common, prepping for exams and group projects, but also the exploration of the world and life, tastes and hobbies that we shared.

Almost without realizing it, we were sharing snippets of life and personality: music, opera, theater, literature, projects, ideals… Parties with girls, among them, Nené and Josefa, whom we married and who remain good friends to this day.

Riverola and Subirà: we became the tandem that has worked well for so many years.

IESE appeared in our lives when we were in the fifth and final year as undergrads (1961-1962). In the chair on company management that had been created and led by Antonio Valero, we organized – with his support – a seminar on Operations Research. The seminar must have been a success because Antonio Valero, who had launched IESE (in 1958), asked us to become faculty, on the condition that we continue our education in the United States. I joined IESE in September 1962 and Riverola a bit later, because Valero asked him to work for a few months with a French consultant who had taken part in the seminar.

Our career at IESE is now well documented, but I would like to highlight that our collaboration, along with the fundamental contributions of Josep Faus, was decisive in defining the quantifiable aspects of the content of our programs, especially in the areas of operations and finance.

We will all remember him as a great scholar, a lovely person, a highly cultured man, a brilliant (and contentious) conversationalist and an endearing friend to everyone — especially to me. We honor your memory.

How can I be like you when I grow up?

Jaume Ribera, professor of production, technology and operations management

I met Josep as an engineering professor in Terrassa. A “different” professor, who quickly turned me on to the area of operational research, his teaching style and the combination of teaching-research-consulting that characterized his professional life. I remember asking him at the end of a class, “What does someone have to do to be like you when they grow up?” And soon after that I was working as his assistant at IESE. His personal and academic support, his introduction to a former professor at Stanford who invited me to do a doctorate in the U.S., and his way of guiding my work without ever directly telling me what to do, but actually letting me discover it, completely changed my life from that point onward, and I have never been able to thank him enough.

Then as a colleague at IESE, in redesigning the MBA courses or spending the weekend together at his home deciphering the “Japanglish” books on JIT to prepare what was then a seminar (now called focused program), I was able to appreciate his great critical intelligence (especially with models that were politically correct at all times), his somewhat cynical humor that could startle unwitting strangers, and also the great person hiding behind all of that, and the empathy with, and support he gave, to the younger professors in the department. If he were looking at us right now, and saw that they asked us for a memory of him, he would say to us, “What are they thinking?!” Although deep down he would appreciate the affection that we have all held for him over the years that we spent together.

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A “teacher” first and foremost

Beatriz Muñoz-Seca, professor of production, technology and operations management

Josep Riverola and I wrote seven books together and worked together for 26 years. He was a jovial man, who loved life and had a big personality. His incisive comments always made people reflect. Our workdays were filled with shared debates and questioning. We held the same curiosity and desire to find answers to the operational issues faced by all managers. Our colleagues nearby always knew when we were writing something together because the lovely calm of the IESE campus in Madrid would suddenly hit a bit of turbulence.

His passion for music and opera made finishing the book Opera and Operations a real odyssey, because he enjoyed it so much that finishing it meant losing the opportunity to be immersed in that world.

He was first and foremost a “teacher,” someone who loved to teach and share his knowledge. Educating was his life and he enjoyed every moment of it. He was, is and will continue to be an academic example for all.

Josep Riverola, one of a kind

Rafael Andreu, professor of strategic management and information systems and Josep M. Rosanas, emeritus professor of accounting and control

Josep Riverola was undoubtedly a unique character. As a person, professor and academic. An incredible sense of humor, a passionate and enthralling debater, some charming eccentricities, a classic absent-minded professor, totally sincere, and above all, a good friend! If he had something “difficult” to say, he knew how to say it in a way that did not offend at all, but he said it.

We would like to point out that some of these unique qualities immediately translated into his work. In 1971, he designed a new course for students of the MBA program, which he titled “Mathematical Models in Finance.” The first edition of the course had only eight students (Rosanas among them), and three professors, since Subirà and Agell were in class. Half of the students were from humanities, but we all agreed in the end that it was the best finance course we had taken. The constant incisive questions of Riverola — such as “What is the use of having money in cash?” were answered naively by many of those present, whose responses he “dismantled” with solid arguments based on mathematics. This increased the students’ knowledge, but above all their ability to reason.

To cite another aspect, it is only fair to recognize that he was the one who “brought information technology to IESE,” approaching it from the beginning not only from a technical perspective but also as a sensible application to management (the first seminars date back to 1970). He worked with the pioneers of hardware design in Spain and also looked at how to accompany them with basic, application-oriented software (Andreu was fortunate enough to participate closely). The results were impressive, and useful in their application, while at the same time conceptually advanced: It is no exaggeration to say that he designed and developed the first spreadsheet that we know of in 1971 (“row module,” he called it — an advanced idea back then given that computers at that time didn’t even have screens!), and that helped popularize and perfect an idea that is still valid: that in a management environment the use of technology cannot be separated from human action (a technical note used in the EMBA in the 1980s talked about systems for planning and aid for management, such as the applications of artificial intelligence (which he was aware of from the outset) — concepts that are discussed today.

Much later, in the early ‘90s, in a different galaxy, he was one of those who witnessed the birth of the theory of Pérez López. We met every Monday, and Juan A. told us what he had been thinking (and writing) about during the previous week. Again, the incisive questions of Riverola mixed with his sense of humor and his highly original suggestions had a major impact on solidifying the theory.

Recently with him we were able to revive almost all of these concepts, ideas and their application in a project in which Rafael de Santiago also participated. Everything appeared again, prepared “à la Riverola,” with rigor, a sense of practicality, clear objectives, development of what is technically necessary and a sense of humor. We had plans to continue, but we can’t do it alone, because only he was able to combine everything and make it a reality in a way that we do not recall seeing in anyone else.

Thank you, Josep. We have so much to thank you for... more than we even realize yet.