page_title: Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi y Montiano
section_title: MAPFRE: from nearly bankrupt to market leader
hierarchical_section_title: Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi y Montiano / MAPFRE: from nearly bankrupt to market leader
caption_attribution_description: English: mapfre logotype
context_page_description: Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi y Montiano was a Spanish entrepreneur, Carlist militant and author. Larramendi was as a longtime head of MAPFRE and is often counted among 100 most influential Spanish businessmen of the 20th century. He is recognized as sponsor and organizer of multifold initiatives related to Hispanic culture, mostly in Latin America. He briefly rose to Carlist executive, but is better known as engaged in promotion of Traditionalist heritage.
context_section_description: Following months spent in London Larramendi worked in Dirección de Seguros until 1952, when he joined Royal Insurance Company to head its Madrid office; following disagreement with its managers and a few-month spell back at Dirección in 1955, the same year he joined MAPFRE, a mid-size private insurance mutual. At the time the company was at the verge of bankruptcy; as director general Larramendi was tasked with introducing a sanitation program. He re-negotiated a long-term debt repayment period with Consejo General de Colegios de Farmacéuticos de España, closed some branches and streamlined ongoing operations, resulting in Mutualidad getting out of red and returning to profit in the late 1950s. At the turn of the decades Larramendi was already in position to design new growth schemes.
  Following introduction of obligatory health insurance Larramendi set up MAPFRE Mutua Patronal de Accidentes de Trabajo. In the early 1960s he pushed for developing a financial arm, intended to merge insurance with credit as a combined offer to car buyers; the plan was accomplished in 1962 by taking over Central de Obras y Crédito and proved successful at the rapidly growing Spanish car market. Another rewarding strategic move was creating Muinsa, an investment trust company intended to find ways around restrictive regulations limiting investment activity of insurance companies. Other specialized ITC companies, Muinsa Dos, Progesa and Mapinco, soon followed, and in the late 1960s the mutual started to re-format some of its structures into joint-stock organizations.
  In 1969 Larramendi drafted first major corporate shakeup, which materialized in 1970. Mutual, targeting mostly the transport market, controlled Gama or MAPFRE Group, which in turn oversaw MAPFRE Industrial and MAPFRE Vida, specializing in business and consumer sectors. The scheme worked allowing sharing common back-office services while retaining autonomy and accountability of diversified and dedicated structures; with car sales booming, in the early 1970s the group became market leader on the car insurance market. Larramendi's position as CEO was so strong that when in conflict with chairman of the board, it was rather the latter who resigned in 1972; his own formal role changed in 1975 from director general to consejero delegado, remaining key and dominating corporate personality.
  The mid-1970s were a crisis period in world economy, affecting Spain and MAPFRE as well. Larramendi responded with another reorganization in 1978, based on creation of Corporación MAPFRE as a holding structure and reducing stakes in controlled companies, fully moved to the joint-stock formula. The scheme proved transitional and in 1983 was followed by launch of Sistema MAPFRE 85, Mutual at its centre and by means of Corporación controlling all daughter companies, now specializing in 3 areas: transport, various risks and life & re-insurance. Once the crisis period faded away the group retained dynamics; in 1983 MAPFRE became market leader on the Spanish insurance market.
caption: MAPFRE logotype
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