Garmendia Cristina

Cristina Garmendia is a Spanish entrepreneur and politician. After completing her doctorate in molecular biology, she joined an industrial fisheries group, occupying various commercial and business roles. When she left, she had risen to the position of Executive VP and CFO. In 2000, she launched Genetrix, a company specialising in biotech. It was the first private company launched on the basis of research from the Spanish national biotechnology centre. She is still the president of Genetrix, which is now a group of a dozen companies. 

She was Minister for Science and Innovation from 2008 to 2011, as part of the Zapatero government. When she left her ministerial post she returned to business, both at Genetrix and elsewhere. In 2014, she became the president of the Spanish Constitutional Foundation, along with 40 other ex-ministers. She is also president of COTEC, a major Spanish foundation whose purpose is to encourage innovation in the knowledge society in ordrer to generate value.