José Aravena, after more than 32 years in Eurochile and 27 in his role as executive director of the Foundation, decided to retire, leaving his position in this institution, which is characterised by supporting business cooperation and technology transfer between Chilean SMEs and institutions and those of the member countries of the European Union.

Aravena, an economist with a degree in economics from the University of Chile and a master’s and doctorate in economics from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, was an integral part of the team in charge of the Foundation’s start-up since 1992 and, after its inauguration in 1993, he held various executive positions until he took over as executive director in 1997.

During his tenure, important initiatives were launched in line with the Foundation’s objectives. Thousands of companies were supported in their internationalisation processes, putting them in contact with European or Chilean counterparts, as appropriate. Dozens of projects were also launched in support of the tourism sector, bringing European expertise to train businessmen and entrepreneurs in areas such as the development of special interest tourism, destination management, tourism product development, the dissemination of sustainable tourism, etc.

Support has also been extended to other sectors such as agribusiness and cross-cutting issues such as environment, satellite technologies and associativity.

A milestone has been the dissemination and support for the implementation of circular economy concepts in Chile, leading the first activities in this field in the country. Since 2016 and hand in hand with the Directorate General for the Environment of the European Commission, the Foundation has collaborated in different initiatives, starting with the organisation of the visit to the country of the first world tour of a European business delegation specialised in Circular Economy, through ensuring the technical secretariat responsible for the construction of the circular economy roadmap for Chile, to all the projects that are currently being implemented in support of SMEs and entrepreneurs seeking to have more circular and sustainable production processes.

“My work at the Eurochile Business Foundation allowed me to maintain constant contact with Europe, a continent with which I deeply identify and where I lived for eight years. Leading the Foundation has been an experience of great satisfaction and challenges, always guided by the institutional commitment and core values of Eurochile,” says Aravena.

Aravena also stressed that every institution is a living organism that needs to renew itself and incorporate new people at all levels. Aware of this, “last year I spoke with the Foundation’s Board about my desire to hand over the position of executive director to a new generation of professionals, who would bring new visions and experiences to the Foundation’s work, which was perfectly understood by the board members”.

Based on the above, Eurochile’s Board of Directors began the search for applicants according to the profile required for this position, where the European background of the candidates, their knowledge of the world of SMEs and their relations with Chilean and European institutions relevant to the work of the Foundation were key elements for the final selection.

During the search process, a number of excellent professionals were interviewed, and finally the Board, by unanimous vote of its members, chose the name of Felipe Mujica Cominetti, who fully meets the profile sought by the Foundation.

José Aravena, the former Executive Director of the Eurochile Business Foundation, expressed his best wishes for his successor. He is confident that he will be able to successfully face the present and future challenges and lead the Foundation to a new stage in its development.