Pau Gasol and Pablo Isla, protagonists of South Summit Madrid 2023

South Summit, co-organised by IE University, will have two exceptional protagonists in this year's edition. Pau Gasol, world champion with the Spanish basketball team, Olympic medallist and two-time NBA winner, and Pablo Isla, Chairman of the International Advisory Board at IE University after 17 years at Inditex, where he was CEO, Vice Chairman and Executive Chairman. At South Summit Madrid they will share their concerns and experiences on entrepreneurship.

Gasol said he is “very excited to be part of South Summit 2023 and to share my thoughts and knowledge in such an innovative environment”. “In addition to sport and wellbeing, entrepreneurship is part of my interests because only these people can drive change and make a difference through their projects”, Gasol said, while he encouraged people not to miss this date, “from which we will learn a lot”.

During his extensive sporting career, Pau Gasol has made history by being the second Spaniard to play in the NBA and the first to win the Rookie of the Year award. His impressive sporting record includes two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and six All-Stars, as well as three ACB Leagues with FC Barcelona, a World Championship and three Olympic medals with the Spanish Basketball Team.

Off the court, Pau Gasol, currently an investor and advisor for projects related to sports and wellbeing, has demonstrated his commitment to childhood and health through his role as UNICEF Global Champion for Nutrition and Zero Childhood Obesity, as well as the creation of the Gasol Foundation with his brother Marc. This work has earned him awards such as the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports and the NAOS Strategy (Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Prevention) Special Recognition Award.

On the other hand, Pablo Isla, in charge of Inditex for 17 years, will once again take part in South Summit Madrid. Isla was named World's Best CEO by Harvard Business Review in 2017 and 2018 and distinguished by Forbes as the best CEO of the decade in 2020.

South Summit, held 7-9th June at La Nave in Madrid, is a global benchmark for attracting talent and generating business opportunities in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The presence of international startups at South Summit is growing every year, reaching 4,500 startups in this new edition of the competition, an increase of 1,000 from last year, 80% from abroad.