Jesús Casado

Jesús brings an in-depth understanding of not only family business culture but also of European and international culture to the table. He is familiar with family succession as he went through a non-expected transfer in his own family which led to the sale of his grandparents’ company.

His educational path is a reflection of his interest in diverse disciplines and cultures: after studying a degree in Law and Economics from Universidad Pontificia Comillas (ICADE-Madrid),  he completed his tertiary education with post-graduate studies at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Germany), at the Spanish Diplomatic School (Madrid)  and at the Institut de Sciences Politiques (Paris). He then went on to earn an MBA from ESADE Business School and a Master in Systemic Therapy and Consulting (Neuro Linguistic Programming).

After starting his career as a lawyer for Telefónica in 1998 focusing on international contracts and M&A, Jesús joined the Spanish Family Business Association (IEF). He quickly moved up from Regional Director to International Director and then to Deputy Director General.

In 2006, Jesús was appointed as the Secretary General of European Family Businesses (EFB). Based in Brussels, EFB represents all the National European Family Businesses associations and aims at promoting policies that are conductive to long-term entrepreneurship in Europe. Its members, more than 10.000 family business owners, directly represent more than 10% of the European GDP.

In addition to his role at EFB, Jesús has served as a member of the Board of the Family Firm Institute (FFI) and as a member of the Executive Committee of Family Business Network (FBN-I). Jesús has also been an Academic Collaborator at ESADE and EAE, focusing on Governance and Succession issues. He is member of the Board of several Foundations and  a frequent speaker at family business conferences and summits in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Jesús is based in Madrid (Spain) and is fluent in Spanish, English, French and German.