Miguel Salís Award

Boosting the catalysts of the energy transition

Miguel Salís, a Spanish businessman, was a pioneer in the renewable energy and technology sectors. An Industrial Engineer with an MBA from Columbia University, he was a serial entrepreneur. Among other companies, Miguel founded Eolia Renovables, the leading independent wind energy company in Spain, and co-founded Jazztel. He also helped establishKira Ventures, an investment firm, and Barter Energy, both related to the energy transition sector.

Descubre la Asociación de Amigos de Miguel SalísAsociación de Amigos de Miguel Salís
Our goal is to support startups that address the challenges of the energy transition in combatting climate change

The Miguel Salís Award recognizes startups that are leading this change, exploring new ways to approach the energy transition through innovation and creativity

A clear, transparent process

The investment analysis team at Kira Ventures will assess the applications and manage the pre-selection of candidates based on commonly established evaluation criteria.

01
Reception
of applications
01
Between 27/11/2024
and 30/01/2025
02
Submissions
will be reviewed
02
Between 30/01/2025
and 17/02/2025
03
A shortlist
will be selected
03
Between 17/02/2025
and 20/03/2025
04
Winner
will be chosen
04
Between 20/03/2025
and 14/04/2025
05
Award ceremony
will take place
05
After May 2025
Meet this year's Jury

The jury is composed of highly respected leaders in the innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable investment sectors who have also sponsored the Award. They were all friends, family, or close collaborators of Miguel, committed to ensuring the selection process is aligned with Miguel’s values.

Miguel Nogales
Miguel Nogales
Founding Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Generation Investment Management LLP, a sustainability-focused asset management firm based in London, which was established in 2004. He graduated summa cum laude from Cambridge University. He is Chairman of the Pure Earth Foundation and a Trustee of Fauna & Flora, the world's oldest environmental organisation.
Julia Gómez Cora
Julia Gómez Cora
Julia holds a degree in Economics from the Universidad Católica Argentina and an Executive Development Program from IESE Business School. In 1999, she was appointed Managing Director of Stage Entertainment in Spain, the world's leading musical entertainment company. During this period she produced 22 musicals and led key operations in the real estate area. After almost two decades of success, she left the company in 2017 to found Amapola Entertainment, dedicated to consulting for international and Spanish entertainment groups. With an outstanding track record of awards and recognitions, she is also a visiting professor at IESE Business School.
Martín Varsavsky
Martín Varsavsky
Serial entrepreneur known for founding and leading multiple successful companies. Throughout his career, he has created and sold companies such as Viatel, Jazztel, Ya.com and co-founded Eolia Renovables. In the last decade, he has concentrated his efforts in the field of human fertility, co-founding innovative companies such as Prelude Fertility (now Inception, where he is chairman), Overture Life and Gameto, focused on automating embryology processes and shortening in vitro fertilisation and egg freezing cycles. In addition, he is actively involved as an investor in various growth stages through several funds.
Mario Sancho
Mario Sancho
Co-founder and CEO of Kira Ventures, an advisory and investment firm in energy transition projects, created in 2017 together with Miguel Salís. He also collaborates in different social initiatives and is a board member in several companies related to sustainability, among others he is vice president of Barter Energy, leader in solar communities in Spain and ambassador of the rural electrification NGO WindAid Institute. Mario holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
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Juan Ignacio Entrecanales
Juan Ignacio Entrecanales
Executive Vice-Chairman of Acciona, S.A. since 2004. Previously, he held various executive positions at Acciona Infraestructuras, as well as the vice-presidency of Seopan. Among other entities, he is a member of the Professional Council of ESADE and of the Advisory Board of the Instituto de Empresa. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Turfts University and an Executive MBA from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid.
Luis Muñoz-Rojas
Luis Muñoz-Rojas
He began his professional career at the Gil y Carvajal S.A. brokerage firm. In 1998, he founded DUAL, an underwriting agency which, 25 years later, has established itself as one of the largest in the world and the main Lloyd's coverholder. In addition to being chairman of DUAL, he was also a director of Howden Group Holdings, playing a crucial role in growth of both organizations. Luis also chaired the Howden Foundation, which focuses on minimizing the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities.
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Alfonso Gómez Acebo
Alfonso Gómez Acebo
He has more than 35 years of experience in investment banking (Midland Montagu, UBS and Credit Suisse). For 11 years, he was head of investment banking and member of the Executive Committee for Spain at Deutsche Bank. He is currently non executive chairman of Kira Ventures, senior advisor to Mediobanca and English private equity firm BC Partners. He is also a director of Homeserve España and has been a director and shareholder of Geoblink. He holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and an MBA from the University of Southern California. Alfonso is a professor of Capital Markets at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria.
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SA
Santiago Alarcó
Santiago Alarcó
Investor with extensive experience in financial markets. He worked for American investment banking in London, and led two hedge funds from the beginning, being partner and investment director of Rubicón and Canosa Capital, both specialised in investment strategies based on macroeconomic trends. He is also an investor in various business projects, mainly related to renewable energies and sustainability.
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