GENERAL NEWS / 10-04-2025
Carmelo Bilbao. Former executive vice president and and current Advisor of Grupo Arania.
Those who know Carmelo Bilbao know that they will find a person who is direct, vehement, intense and sincere who, as he himself says, exudes “warmth”. After more than 18 and a half years at the helm of the company, the former executive vice president of Grupo Arania is reflecting upon some of the milestones that have marked his governance throughout the years, and takes pride in his solvent handling of two of the biggest crises that have shaken the planet: the economic recession of 2008, amplified by his personal experience of the Bombay terror attacks, and the management of COVID.
Question. You led Grupo Arania for 18 years. How would you define this period?
Answer. It was 18 years and 7 months to be exact. There were plenty of ups and downs in terms of business and the economy, but was a very positive experience, very very positive. I thought there was no way it could be better than the era of cooperativism, but it was, by a long way.
*Carmelo spent 20 years working at Ulma, a company that was part of the Mondragón cooperative, the largest socio-economic cooperative project in the world.
Q. What about yourself? Would you venture a definition of yourself?
A. I'm a person who exudes a lot of warmth in everything I do. That's why I'd define myself like that, as a person who exudes warmth. To get the best out of everyone in the Group, you have to be warm-hearted, although at Grupo Arania there is an enormous level of commitment.
Q. Is the Carmelo who experienced cooperativism different?
A. Well yes, it's an older Carmelo as I now have grown-up children, grandchildren, and I've learned a lot. In the cooperatives I much younger and had different experiences. I was very active, an entrepreneur, but the experience was very good. I think the maturity it gave me has allowed me to enjoy some really great moments.
“The biggest challenge I set myself when I came to the Group was to try to get the most out of people by making them more customer-oriented and, therefore, more growth-focused”.
Q. What did you find when you came to Grupo Arania?
A. I found a group that was not very customer-focused. The group was coming from a period of production in which everything was sold, so progress was impossible. It was accustomed to making the most of the economic circumstances of the time but not getting the best out of people. The biggest challenge I set myself when I came to the Group was to try to get the most out of people by making them more customer-focused and, therefore, more focused on growth.
Q. Which decision are you most proud of?
A. I'm most proud of two moments in this period: First, in 2008, during the financial crisis, when we went ahead and purchased several companies including Technometal and Laminación Vizcaya, when everyone else was keeping their heads down. I didn't. And not to mention that it was then that Bombay happened (the terrorist attacks where 173 people died, and in which Carmelo and his wife found themselves in the midst), which was quite hard. But what I'm really proud of and passionate about is the way we handled COVID. We did really well then.
“The milestone that has most marked the group during this period was COVID. Instead of keeping our heads down, we thought about people and we didn't leave anybody in the lurch”.
Q. Of all the milestones you've experienced, such as the end of ETA, the inflation crisis, the invasion of Ukraine, the green revolution, the rise of feminism… Which has left the biggest mark on the group?
A. COVID, without a doubt, and it's something we should all be proud of, how we came together and the commitment the group demonstrated. With COVID, instead of keeping our heads down, we thought about people and didn't leave anybody in the lurch. We didn't resort to furloughs or redundancies, and there were people who stayed at home, but everyone was paid, and when we came out of it we came out running. But how we looked after people, both personally and professionally, is something I value greatly. And with regard to feminism, it seems like nobody in the steel sector gives it much importance, and that worries me a lot. Because it seems that people don't have daughters, wives or granddaughters, and that's a shame.
Q. Within these recent milestones is the capital inflow from the Basque Government. What does that entail from a strategic point of view?
A. And also the Government of Navarre buying into AR Racking. These decisions have been friendly buy-ins, in other words, they weren't investment fund buy-ins because we don't need people thinking in the short term, but rather in the long term. Grounding is one of the motives behind this buy-in but the governments are not there to try and capitalise in five years and then move on. If these governments change and decide to seek results and risk job stability and wealth, we'd be better off out.
“We have to be bigger and grow sustainably, in a way that looks after jobs and wealth, without going crazy”.
Q. What would you say was your main achievement at the helm of the group?
A. I really don't know, that should be up to the people to say. But I suppose the warmth I have given to issues, not just from a personal and management point of view, but also from a perspective of the business, the vocation for growth. If that vocation is slowed now, for me as a director that would be a shame.
Q. Then that would be the main differential value of your management.
A. From the point of view of the business, yes, my vocation for growth. We have to be bigger and it's possible to grow sustainably, in a way that looks after jobs and wealth, without going crazy. But not just purchasing companies, we also have to go to countries, with new products, new markets… It's only possible to grow with products or markets, or both.
“One thing still rankles: I should have insisted more on equality and feminism and could have done more for Euskera”.
Q. Does anything still rankles?
A. One thing still rankles: insisting more on equality and feminism and on promoting the use of Euskera (the Basque language). I could have done more.
Q. Who or what have been your pillars of support throughout these years?
A. I've had many, I'm not going to name them, but I could make a list. But one person so different to the person I replaced, who has been so good in putting up with me was Eric (Arana). He's a person with a lot of empathy and deserves great credit. But I've been supported by a lot of people, I've learned from a lot of people and, along the lines of what I was saying before, I've learned much more from people that what I learned at Ulma. Maturity teaches you to learn, not only from your colleagues, but also from your wife, your children, and now I'm starting to learn from my grandchildren, and that gives me strength. It's enough to name Eric, who deserves great credit, and that's not to flatter him. Realising that there was a legacy of a group that was not very customer-focused, and what we have achieved between us is to turn it around completely. That would never have been possible without having him to give us the go-ahead.
Q. Have you been able to combine all of this with your personal life?
A. It's very hard. It's only possible if you step back from groups, and going out with friends, and prioritise family over everything else. And the people who want to go mad and appear in symposiums, in the media, be seen…, I remind them that they're winning votes in exchange for animosity in the family. I think I've done well, but now I've got more time to be with family I'm starting to think I could have done better. Now I'm going to be free 80% of the time and everybody's worried what's going to happen to me, and I'm having a fantastic time, even without any hobbies. But it's easy to get the balance wrong. In the era of cooperatives I travelled a lot more and suffered a lot more. But the truth is that part of my success is both thanks to and for my family.
Q. Is your closeness with the people in the workforce part of a strategy, a conviction or a spirit of rebelliousness towards the hierarchical structure?
A. I don't know how to be false. In human relationships it's impossible to fake it, and with me you can always tell. It's like playing cards, you soon realise when someone's bluffing. I've seen people who want to force themselves to be someone else. They try, but the person in front of them soon realises if they're being straight with them or not.
“On a personal level, the terrorist attack marked a before and an after: it was a reaffirmation for me and those around me that there's no place for a victim mentality”.
Q. Is there any personal experience or anecdote that has marked a before and an after in your career?
A. On a personal level, the terrorist attack marked a before and an after: it was a reaffirmation for me and those around me that there's no place for a victim mentality. And there's a big victim mentality in companies…. But the real test for everyone was COVID. On a personal level, I had the whole family close to home, but I also had the whole company close. COVID was unfortunate for everyone, but for me it was a test that I came out of very well.
Q. Have you had any turning points when you have thought of giving it all up? How did you come back from it?
A. On a professional level I have never had serious problems, beyond the odd conflict with one worker or another, but they have always been resolved. The fact my wife was in a bad way after a fall she had in 2019 made me think of leaving as the situation was very bad. In the end it was resolved but I was very close to saying "agur" (goodbye in Basque language) because I found myself in a very bad situation.
“You have to keep looking upward, but there are a lot of people willing to tread on others to grow, and that's not right”.
Q. And with respect to the future, how would you like the post-Carmelo era to be?
A. I'm not for giving advice, and I'm grateful when people ask me for it, but we're going through some very hard times, personally, socially and professionally … We want everything today, if not yesterday, and there are people who are capable of committing many terrible actions without a thought for the people who are beside or below them. I see a lot of “climbing”, and not in the group, but I believe there are two types of people: those who always look upwards and those who look sideways and downwards. I'm in the second group. You have to keep looking upwards, but there are a lot of people who are willing to step on others to grow, and that's not right.
Q. Now you're facing a new era as a group director. Will you miss anything or is this new challenge a special motivation for you?
A. I've not been part of the management since 1 January, and the truth is I don't want to be. It's a new position where I know what I have to do. I'm not going to miss management because I have accepted another challenge, and I'm going to try to do my part as a advisor who defends the group's human and business interests.
Q. You chose the restaurant Boroa for this chat. Why?
A. Because during this time I think I've eaten at this restaurant more times than I have at home. It's a home from home for many people at Grupo Arania. Throughout the last 18 and a half years I've been in my office, sat in my chair… probably around 3 hours. And when I've moved, I've come to eat here. If you want to bring warmth, you have to be with people, eat with them, have a good time, go to fairs and build a team. And I've built a team here with customers, suppliers….
