Dr. Fornesa i Ribó was born in 1931 and dying in Barcelona in 2014. He was an attorney and a business manager. In 1948 he earned his degree in Law at the Universitat de Barcelona and in Business Administration from the Escola Superior de Comerç de Barcelona. He served as Public Prosecutor from 1957 to 1975. In 1977 he was named the Secretary General and Senior Legal Representative of la Caixa d'Estalvis i Mont de Pietat de Barcelona (“la Caixa” bank) and, in 1979 was elected Executive President of Societat General d'Aigües de Barcelona, a post he held until 2006. In 1990 he was also named Executive Deputy General Director of  “la Caixa” and President in 2003, a post he abandoned in 2008 to assume the Presidency of Criteria Caixa Corp. Between 2003 and 2005 he was also President of the real estate firm, Immobiliària Colonial.

He was also President of “la Caixa” Foundation and the Catalan Federation of Savings Banks until June 2007. He was President of the URL Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2004, member of the Board from 2001 to 2013 and member of the URL Committee of Honour from 2013. He was also a Member of the Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences and the Círculo de Economía association. He has received numerous distinctions, including the Gold Medal from the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, the Gold Medal from the Ordre National du Mérite (France) and the Saint George’s Cross (Government of Catalonia). He was also a Member of the Board of Trustees of various cultural organisations, including Fundación Carolina, Fundació MACBA and Fundación Albéniz.

Awarded: September, 30th 2004