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Ignacio Galán wished to pay a solemn tribute to the figure of José Ignacio Berroeta, former CEO of the Basque company and Chairman of BBK.

The Executive Chairman of Iberdrola received the family of José Ignacio Berroeta, who died last September, at the Larraskitu headquarters in Bilbao, accompanied by the Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu; the Deputy General of Bizkaia, Elixabete Etxanobe; and other authorities. Among them, the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mª Aburto.

During the remembrance ceremony, the widow of José Ignacio Berroeta, María José Aurrecoechea, accompanied by family members, unveiled a commemorative plaque inside Iberdrola's Larraskitu complex in Bilbao, and unveiled the new name of the Larraskitu Complex in Bilbao on the exterior of the main building. From now on, it will be known as the José Ignacio Berroeta Corporate Centre.

Ignacio Galán referred to the honoree as a man of great truths in a few words. "His legacy will remain everlasting alongside the values of the land, which he embodied. From today he gives his name to this Iberdrola centre of technological excellence in Bilbao". Galán pointed out that "part of my professional life was linked to José Ignacio Berroeta, a decisive person in the financial sector and industrial fabric of the Basque Country".

The Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, closed the event by highlighting the figure of Berroeta: "his good practices and ways of doing things took him away from the noise and he transmitted calm in times of doubt and uncertainty" and added that, "thanks to people like him, today we can speak of a Basque business fabric that is more diversified and competitive, rooted and open to the outside world".

For her part, María José Aurrecoechea, thanked the tribute and signed the Basque company's book of honour together with the Executive Chairman of Iberdrola and the rest of the Basque authorities.

A man of vision and commitment to society

José Ignacio Berroeta, who died on 16 September at the age of 84, had a renowned career as a banker from his first steps in the financial area of General Electric. He later joined Banco Vizcaya (1978) and then BBK (1990-2003). During this period, he worked intensively for the merger of the three savings banks in the Basque Country, although it finally materialised in 2011 through Kutxabank. Berroeta was a pioneer in solidarity banking, starting with his collaboration with Cáritas, granting microcredits to people with limited resources. Visionary in his decisions, he supported the financial rescue of the company CAF. He was also a director of Iberdrola, where he established a solid and close collaboration with Ignacio Galán, with whom he always had great complicity. Since 2003, he decided to devote himself entirely to his family life.