IV Keicho Award: CEJE awards Panasonic and Gestamp

The companies Panasonic and Gestamp have received

the IV Keicho Awards for Innovation and Technology from the Japan-Spain Business Circle (CEJE). These awards recognise two companies –one Japanese and the other Spanish– for promoting innovation and technology in their respective sectors, as well as fostering business development between Japan and Spain.

Specifically, Panasonic was recognised for offering products and services based on ideas of value that enrich people’s lifestyles and promote the progress of society, developing ideas that translate into relevant and innovative technologies. For its part, Gestamp was acknowledged for developing innovative designs to achieve vehicles that are increasingly safe and lightweight and, therefore, better in terms of energy-savings and the environment. Jorge Lasheras, president of CEJE, highlighted that the two companies “perfectly represent the spirit of the Keicho Awards due to their desire to innovate and create, integrating technology into their respective business models”.

The awards, with honorary president HM King Felipe VI, brought together over 140 people, including institutional representatives and heading corporations from both Japan and Spain, at the IE Business School in Madrid. Noteworthy attendees included the Chargé d’Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Spain, Toru Shimizu, and the Dean of IE Business School, Martin Boehm.

The awards are held at a time that promotes bilateral relationships between the two countries. The Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Japan, together with the new partnership on transport, energy and digitalisation between Tokyo and Brussels, seek to have a positive impact on trade between the two markets

A new paradigm

The award ceremony also involved a round table discussion about ‘Intelligent Mobility’, in which several experts from the world of business, such as Francisco Javier Ferré, partner at EY; Sergio Alcaraz, General Manager of New Model Vehicle Engineering (AMIE) – Nissan Motor Ibérica; Juan Garrigosa,Head of B2G at Endesa X, part of the ENEL Group; and Carlos Blanco, CEO of WiBLE, analysed the impact of new technologies and digitalisation on the mobility of cities and citizens.

Jorge Lasheras, president of CEJE, stated that “this meeting represents a great opportunity to unpack how intelligent mobility will affect all aspects of our lives and to interpret how companies are contributing to that”.