About us

The foundation

History

Our Foundation was born under the wing of GCO in 1998 with the purpose of channelling the sponsorship and patronage activities that the insurance company had been carrying out throughout an entire century. Its original name —Fundación Catalan Occidente— was replaced by the current one, Fundación Jesús Serra, in 2006, as a tribute to Jesús Serra Santamans, founder of the company and firm defender, from the private sphere, of the humanitarian values and spirit in benefit of the community.

In this new era, our Foundation follows the path of its initiator, and every year it promotes a large number of research and educational projects, cultural activities, sport activities and charity initiatives, both internal and in collaboration with other institutions, with the aim of fostering GCO's work and commitment to society.

Among the different projects carried out, the ones that stand out are those that focus on promoting the talents of children with no resources through musical initiatives such as “My turn to play!” or the scholarship programmes for gifted students with no resources in entities such as the Deusto Business School, Fundación ESADE or África Digna, in Kenya, and the university and entrepreneurship programmes that are coordinated with Fundación Prevent; those aimed at promoting arts such as poetry, especially among young children, with our annual poetry contest, and the project to promote poetry in schools, "Poetízate," and boosting the musical careers of the winning pianists of the Maria Canals International Music Competition. In research, we support research and its dissemination through projects such as the Fundación Jesús Serra Research Awards and the Visiting Researchers programme with the CNIO, CNIC and IAC.    We back sport with ski championships and tennis and paddle tennis tournaments for young people, and we support adapted sport by providing athletic activities for employees, mediators and family members with disabilities of GCO, and other projects such as the inclusive initiation campus for skiers and riders, and the inclusive Spanish Cup circuit, both in coordination with CDIA. We also partner with social aid organisations such as UNHCR, Ser Madre ser Mujer, Manos Unidas and Fundación Balia.

 

Organisation

Chairperson: Federico Halpern    

Vice-President: Laura Halpern

Managing director: Ignacio Gallardo-Bravo

Deputy Director: Susana Codina   

Project Specialist: Laura López

Administrative Specialist: Esther Jutge

 

Objectives

Our Foundation works towards helping achieve a better society for all, while always guided by firmly-held values such as solidarity, effort and teamwork, and inspired by the humanitarian conscientiousness that characterised Jesús Serra Santamans, the founder of GCO.

The human and entrepreneurial spirit of our founder has taken us to promote, year after year, a large number of projects, which include research programmes, cultural activities and sports tournaments, as well as other activities that provide scholarships for studies, and a large number of social initiatives aimed at integration, the promotion of human rights and progress.

Our future plans, which are constantly growing, reflect the continuity of our work as sponsors of significant initiatives aimed at several collectives, the gestation of new projects and the extension of the scope of action to other social initiatives that, at least, bring a smile to those most in need.

GCO

The pillars of GCO were laid upon the incorporation in 1864 of the Sociedad Catalana de Seguros Contra Incendios a Prima Fija. In its first years, over 150 years ago, the company grew strongly up to the '50s, which is an indisputable achievement if we take into consideration the complexity of that period's context, a turbulent period of wars and changes.

However, the company really took off well into the 20th century under the leadership and entrepreneurial vision of Jesús Serra Santamans, who expanded the Group across Spain by broadening its scope of action and extending its range of products, aimed at covering the needs of families and companies.

GCO is one of the leaders in the Spanish insurance sector and the global credit insurance sector. With steady growth and a broad reach, it has more than 7,100 employees, a presence in more than 50 countries and serves more than 4,500,000 customers.

Its network consists of over 1,500 offices and 17,000 mediators.

At the close of 2022, it was the fourth largest company in the Spanish market and the second largest in credit insurance worldwide.

 

For more information on GCO, please visit its website, www.grupocatalanaoccidente.com.