page_title: Antonio Valero Vicente
section_title: Founding of IESE
hierarchical_section_title: Antonio Valero Vicente / Founding of IESE
caption_attribution_description: Español: Antonio Valero, ingeniero industrial, catedrático y primer director general del IESE.
context_page_description: Antonio Valero Vicente was a Spanish industrial engineer, professor and the first dean of IESE Business School, part of the University of Navarra. A pioneer in executive education and in using the case method to teach management in Spain, he was committed to the world of business. Valero served as a board member and advisor in public and private sector companies, and was an advisor to various government ministries. He helped found the first centrist political parties in Catalonia. In 1968, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise.
context_section_description: In the summer of 1957, José Javier López Jacoiste, an envoy of Josemaría Escrivá, met with Valero and conveyed the Opus Dei founder's desire to take measures to help business leaders manage their companies from a Christian perspective. Thus, Antonio Valero began the process commissioned by Escrivá to create a school that would train business leaders and executives.
  Valero gathered information from several colleagues and friends about what was happening outside of Spain in the field of executive education. In the spring of 1958, he traveled to Lille (France), whose École des Administrations des Affaires—directed by an MBA graduate from Harvard Business School (HBS)—had introduced the case method of teaching, a novelty in Europe. In May, Valero presented a proposal to Escrivá, who gave his approval and set the 1958–1959 academic year as its launch date.
  In the first action plan for IESE, Valero outlined the initial phase of the project, the professors who could take part in it and the name of the future educational institute, which was, after some discussion, was called the Escuela de Directores del Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Empresa (IESE).
  With Valero as dean, the next steps were to select the faculty and develop the curriculum for the first program, called the Programa de Alta Dirección de Empresas (PADE), which was aimed at business leaders with at least a decade of experience in senior management. On November 25–26, 1958, the first classes were held at the Hotel del Parque in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres. The Programa de Dirección de Empresas (PDE) followed in the 1959–1960 academic year, and the Programa de Desarrollo para Alta Dirección de Empresas (PDADE, now known as PDG) in 1961. In 1964, with the help of Harvard Business School (HBS), IESE launched the Master in Business Administration and Economics (MED). It was the first time the term "master's" was used in Europe; it later took on the standardized name of MBA.
  The impetus for launching the master's program came from Escrivá, who believed IESE should train not only business leaders and executives, but also young people. In February 1963, on a trip to Rome by professors Carlos Cavallé, Félix Huerta and Antonio Valero, they confirmed the idea that had been developing for months. Participation by professors Cavallé, Huerta, Juan Farrán and Esteban Masifern in the International Teachers' Program at Harvard allowed the IESE professors to get to know the school's master's program and some of its faculty members. In March 1963, Harvard professor Franklin E. Folts spent a month at IESE teaching classes and helping to develop the plan for creating the master's degree. In October of that same year, the Harvard-IESE Committee met for the first time, in Boston, with the Spanish business school seeking advice from the American institution on both academic and practical matters.
  For Professor Josep Faus, five strategic decisions by Valero shaped the philosophy and identity of IESE:
  Start from the top. The first courses were created for executives who had at least 10 years of experience in senior management.
  Professor training. Organization and financing of the most advanced specialization with doctorates abroad for IESE professors.
  Internationalization. This was achieved through participation in supranational organizations and through doctorates in business administration.
  Research beyond the creation of pedagogical materials and case studies.
  Allocation of professors’ time:
  25%: academic activity
  25%: research
  25%: internal tasks at IESE
  25%: external consulting
  Valero was the dean of IESE from its founding in 1958 until 1967, when he was succeeded by Professor Juan Ginebra.
caption: Antonio Valero, 1988
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