So that the Governing Board governs the cooperative like the company it is.

For cooperative governing boards

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Members of Governing Boards of cooperatives and SATs from across the agri-food chain
28 October; 4, 11 and 18 November 2026

4 days · 9:30–19:30 · Hotel Oca Puerta del Camino, Santiago de Compostela

Governance Course for Governing Boards of Agri-food Cooperatives

More than 450 members of Governing Boards have taken this course since 2014. As the governing body of a cooperative, Governing Boards face the responsibility of driving the cooperative’s development and competitiveness through a long-term perspective and a strategy grounded in sound business management principles.

board members since 2014
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days, 9:30 to 19:30
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areas: business, finance and governance
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alumni from the sector
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Course Profile

A board member is both a member and a supplier. This course exists because of that dual role.

The course brings together members of Governing Boards of cooperatives from every link in the chain: agriculture, livestock, supplies, industry, distribution and services. Great professionals of the land who also take on the responsibility of governing a company.

Chairs and Vice-Chairs

Those who lead the Governing Board and answer to the members for the cooperative’s direction.
→ Chair or vice-chair of a Governing Board
→ Cooperative from any link in the chain
→ Real references: AGROSEVILLA, COVAP, TROPS, DCOOP

Serving Board Members

Members with a seat on the Board who need their own judgment to decide on investment, debt and oversight — not only on production.
→ Serving member of a Governing Board
→ Voting responsibility in governance decisions
→ Willingness to separate governance from management

Boards Attending as a Team

San Telmo recommends that several board members attend per cooperative: the shared vision built in the classroom is what later improves the Board.
→ Two or more board members from the same cooperative
→ Commitment to attend together
→ Goal: return with a shared language of governance

What are the objectives of the Cooperatives Program?

This is not a farming course or a management course: it is a governance course. What it trains is the board member’s seat.

Business Environment: Looking Beyond Production

Understand the cooperative’s competitive challenges in the global agri-food chain: market, distribution channels, sustainability and a long-term perspective.

Development: The Numbers a Board Member Must Understand

Interpret accounting information, apply investment and debt criteria, and take on the Board’s responsibility for the Annual Accounts. Without that, a Board vote is an act of faith.

The Classroom: Other Cooperatives Facing the Same Issues

Exchanging experience with Governing Boards from other cooperatives — across different products and regions — is half the value of the course. San Telmo has been developing board members and managers for 40 years: more than 7,500 alumni from the sector, supported by an Advisory Board made up of leading agri-food companies.

Methodology

The Case Method, in three stages.

San Telmo writes its own cases on agri-food cooperatives; the method is the one used by the world’s leading business schools.
«The case presents another cooperative’s problem. The debate teaches you that it is also your own.»
The classroom debates at the level of a Governing Board: what to decide, with which numbers and with what responsibility.
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Individual study
Each participant prepares a real case from the sector on their own: a situation with the same tensions their Board experiences.
Discussion in small groups with board members from other cooperatives. The problems repeat even when the product changes.
Classroom debate led by the professor, at Governing Board level.
The shared vision built in the classroom returns with you to the Board. That is why several board members per cooperative are encouraged to attend.

Curriculum

Academic Content

Three areas that develop the decision-making criteria the board member’s seat demands: understanding competitive challenges, overseeing the finances and exercising governance.
Understand the cooperative’s business, beyond production.
  • The business within the global agri-food value chain
  • Govern with a market perspective
  • Understand customers and distribution channels
  • Sustainability and Circularity

From Seed to Plate

San Telmo studies issues affecting the entire agri-food chain. Board members leave seeing where their cooperative really competes.
The economic criteria a board member needs in order to decide.
  • Interpreting and Using Accounting Information
  • The Numbers a Board Member Must Know
  • Investment and Debt Criteria
  • The Governing Board and the Annual Accounts

Original Cases on Cooperatives

San Telmo writes its own cases based on real cooperatives and companies in the sector.

Exercise the Governing Board’s role and distinguish it from management.
  • The Role of the Board Member in Leading the Future
  • Board Structure and Its Relationship with Management
  • The Conflict of Interest of the Board Member-Supplier
  • Oversight and Control: What to Monitor and How

As a Board Team

Several board members from each cooperative attend. The course is designed so that the Board returns aligned, not simply so that one board member returns convinced.

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Who will teach you

Faculty with first-hand management experience.

Faculty with extensive teaching and management experience in the agri-food sector.

Business Policy
Dr. David Moreno Utrilla
Finance
José María Pérez Gardey
Finance
Josep Mor Figueras
People Management in Organizations
Santiago Álvarez de Mon
Control
Dr. Raúl Adrián Ibáñez Trianteno
Production, Technology and Operations Management
Dr. Enrique Garrido Martínez
Business Policy
Antonio García de Castro
Business Policy
Juan Pérez Gálvez
People Management in Organizations
José Miguel Caballero Real

What the chairs of participating cooperatives say

AGROSEVILLA, COVAP, DCOOP, TROPS, Cuna de Platero: the boards that have passed through this classroom are the proof.
CCR
Gabriel Cabello López
“As farmers we have proven to be great professionals; with this course, San Telmo opens our eyes as business owners and helps us see cooperatives as modern companies of the agri-food sector.”
Gabriel Cabello López
Chairman · AGROSEVILLA
The impact

What happens after the course.

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Board members trained since 2014
Members of Governing Boards who have taken the course since it began.
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Alumni from the sector
Board members and managers of cooperatives and agri-food companies trained by San Telmo.
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Years as the sector's reference
The course is not born of a governance fad: it is born of knowing the sector since 1982.
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Links in the classroom
Agriculture, livestock, supplies, industry, distribution and services.

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It is time to govern your cooperative.

Frequently Asked Questions

Direct contact with FOODepartment: food@santelmo.org · 954 975 004. No intermediate forms.

Can I combine the course with my responsibilities on a Governing Board?

Yes. The course is designed for members of Governing Boards who combine this responsibility with their professional activity within the cooperative.

Its objective is to help board members understand the strategic challenges facing the business, perform their governance role effectively and improve decision-making through a methodology based on the Case Method, individual preparation, teamwork and plenary sessions. The format, spread over four full days, makes attendance easier without requiring a continuous time commitment.

The course is aimed at members of Governing Boards of agri-food cooperatives across every link in the chain: agriculture, livestock, supplies, industry, distribution and services.

We recommend that several board members from the same cooperative attend, as this helps develop a shared perspective and strengthens the work of the Governing Board. Registration is completed through the course form.

The standard fee is €3,600. Thanks to sponsorship from Caixa Rural Galega and support from Clusaga, the final fee for participants is €1,800.

Tuition includes academic materials, coffee breaks and lunches.

The course is held in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia.

It consists of four sessions, held on 28 October and 4, 11 and 18 November 2026, from 09:30 to 19:30.