Our History
Forty-two years later, we are still the same school. And, at the same time, a very different one.
A school born from the commitment of business owners to the development of their region
San Telmo has its roots in a private, independent and non-profit initiative launched in the early 1980s by people convinced that economic and social progress required better-prepared business owners and executives. The San Telmo Foundation was established in 1981 and, in 1982, launched the San Telmo International Institute, dedicated to the education and development of senior management.
From the outset, the project was closely connected to the realities of business in Andalusia, with particular attention to sectors that were vital to its economy and with an ambition that soon extended beyond the regional and national spheres. Applied learning, research, the exchange of experience and service to society have accompanied San Telmo’s growth in Spain and its international development ever since.
Our Journey
Forty-two years in thirteen milestones
A journey built step by step, always closely connected to business and to leading international academic networks.
Foundation
Establishment of the San Telmo Foundation
Conceived as a private and independent initiative serving economic and business development.
Business School
The San Telmo International Institute is born
The first Senior Management Program, AD-1, begins with the academic support of IESE and the Case Method.
Europe
Joining EFMD and the transfer of Casa Cuna
San Telmo becomes a full member of the European Foundation for Management Development. That same year, the Provincial Council of Seville grants the former Casa Cuna building to San Telmo as its headquarters.
Opening
King Juan Carlos I inaugurates the Seville campus
The first restored phase of the building is officially opened. That year, San Telmo also holds a major Assembly attended by the Royal Family and representatives from public institutions and the business community.
Ibero-America
Joining CLADEA
Joining the Latin American Council of Management Schools strengthens the institution’s Ibero-American dimension.
Innovation
CREARA is launched with MIT
The Centre for Innovation and Business Creation is created in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Expansion
Joining AEEDE and expanding to Malaga
San Telmo joins the Spanish Association of Business Management Schools and begins delivering programs on a permanent basis in Malaga.
Malaga
Hacienda y Villa de Teatinos becomes the Malaga campus
Malaga City Council grants the property to the Foundation, and educational activities begin there that same year.
25 Years
A quarter-century developing business leaders
San Telmo celebrates the milestone with a major Assembly in Seville, by then firmly established as a leading institution in the education of business owners and senior executives.
Food & Agribusiness
Forum Alimentare Milano
San Telmo’s specialization in Food & Agribusiness goes international. Three years later, FooDepartment takes its activities to the Americas with the Miami Agrifood Seminar.
Recognition
Felipe VI inaugurates the Sixth Assembly of Members
Under the theme “Winning the Future. Building on Solid Foundations,” and before an audience of nearly 3,000 people, the King highlights lifelong learning and values in business leadership.
Global Perspective
International Advisory Board on Business Policy
Chaired by Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, it brings together leaders from several continents. Its mission is to identify the challenges facing senior management and ensure that executive education remains closely connected to global companies.
Asia
“An Immersion in China”
San Telmo begins a new chapter in Asia with an international seminar bringing together 80 business owners and executives from four continents in Wenzhou and Shenzhen.
Our Foundations
The Creation of San Telmo Business School
The project to create a business school in Seville was promoted by Gerarda de Orléans-Borbón and found one of its strongest champions in the businessman Javier López de la Puerta. The ambition was clear: to bring to southern Spain rigorous, practical senior management education closely connected to the real challenges faced by those who lead companies and institutions.
IESE’s academic support was decisive from the outset. Faculty from IESE helped plan the first programs, contributed teaching materials and introduced San Telmo to the Case Method, developed by Harvard Business School and particularly suited to learning the practice of management. In November 1982, the first Senior Management Program, AD-1, began, bringing together business owners and executives to analyse real situations and challenge one another’s decisions in the classroom.
Over the years, San Telmo expanded its academic and international links. In 1999, for example, the Foundation launched CREARA, a centre for innovation and business creation developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This openness to international knowledge has always coexisted with a distinctive identity and a close relationship with the business community.
Recognition
How the market sees us
Top 3
Among the world’s top three institutions for Food & Agribusiness education, alongside Harvard Business School and Cornell University.
No. 1
The world’s leading producer of business cases in Spanish.
Food
A benchmark for the Food & Agribusiness sector in Spain and internationally.
Global
International academic accreditations maintained over time.
Companies
The companies that have been part of our journey
Our Story
Forty-two years in images
