The Chamber presents its “Company of the Year 2023” award to Zabala Innovation
The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg recognises, in the IX Edition of its “Company of the Year” awards, the exemplary trajectory of Zabala Innovation (www.zabala.es), coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the opening of its offices in Brussels.
Through this award, the Chamber aims to contribute to the promotion of Spanish economic and business development in Belgium and Luxembourg, rewarding the experience and demonstration of leadership and competitiveness of companies in their sector of activity.
With this award, the Chamber of Commerce recognises the innovation management expertise of Zabala Innovation, a consultancy firm that has maintained sustained growth since its creation in 1986 and today has more than 470 professionals, 13 offices in five European countries (Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain) and more than 10,000 client entities.
On Monday 27 November, the Deputy Director of DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission, Signe Ratso, together with the President of the Chamber, Pablo López-Álvarez, presented the award to Zabala Innovation, in an event that brought together around a hundred people from the European institutions and the EU innovation ecosystem.
During the event, López-Álvarez reviewed the history of the Chamber’s Company of the Year award, mentioning the previous winners, and explained the merits of Zabala Innovation to receive it this year. The Spanish Ambassador to Belgium, Alberto Antón Cortés, then took the floor briefly to give an overview of the state of trade relations between the two countries.
The evening continued with a speech by Signe Ratso, who highlighted the need to continue promoting innovation and industrialisation as key factors for improving competitiveness in Europe. In front of the audience, Ratso defended the importance of continuing to invest in innovation and for institutions to listen to key industry players in the process.
Erik Zabala, CEO of Zabala Innovation, expressed his enthusiasm after receiving the award: “We are very proud and grateful to the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce”, and recalls that it was in 2003 when his father José Mª Zabala, founder and current president of the company, “had the vision and courage to open an office in Brussels in order to be close to the European Commission and provide a better service to our Spanish customers”.
In his speech, Jose María Zabala stressed the importance of investment in innovation: “A region or a country does not innovate because it is rich, but it is rich because it innovates. Let us continue to support investment in innovation and industrialisation, as drivers of advanced societies and guarantors of the well-being of their citizens”.
