Organisation

Rikardo Bueno Zabalo, CEO

Rikardo Bueno has a PhD in Industrial Engineering and is the CEO of the BRTA, an alliance of 17 R&D centres and cooperative research centres.

Before leading the BRTA, he worked at TECNALIA in positions covering responsibilities both in manufacturing research, with the main aim of transferring new technologies to the industrial base, and in internationalisation, which seeks to cooperate with leading European organisations in the development of technological assets.

Rikardo has also participated in European activities and initiatives on innovation in manufacturing. He is a member of Manufuture, has been co-chair of the industrial advisory group (AIAG) of the public-private partnership (PPP) Factories of the Future and has been one of the promoters of EIT Manufacturing and its hub in the Basque Country. The idea that has driven participation in these initiatives has always been to «expand the field» of R&D in the manufacturing sector, so that European industry can become more innovative and therefore globally competitive.

Garbiñe Manterola Agirrezabalaga, Head of Transfer

Garbiñe has a degree in Environmental Sciences (Autonomous University of Barcelona, 2002), a PhD in Applied Physics (University of Navarre, 2009) and a Master’s in Science and Innovation Management (Polytechnic University of Valencia, 2021). During her professional career she has worked in various research positions, both in academia and in industrial companies. Her main expertise is in environmental technologies, in particular in advanced wastewater treatment and resource recovery.

She is currently the BRTA's Knowledge Transfer Manager and her activity focuses on strengthening the conditions for the transmission of knowledge generated in the alliance's centres to companies in order to contribute towards their competitiveness. She was a member of the European Sustainable Finance Platform from 2020 to 2022.

Jon Kepa Gerrikagoitia Arrien, Head of Science and Technology

Jon Kepa Gerrikagoitia has a degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Deusto (1993), a Master’s in Software Engineering from the University of Deusto (1995) and a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Mondragón (2006). During his professional career he has combined his activity as a university lecturer, researcher at R&D centres and in industry, focusing on computer science and data science, and specialising in areas such as software architectures, web engineering, data engineering and machine learning. His main sphere of application has been Advanced Manufacturing, leading the ICT and Automation research group at IDEKO, and specialising in manufacturing technologies. His work focuses on incorporating the latest innovations in digital automation and data science into industrial production, within the framework of Industry 4.0, with the aim of digitalizing industry from the machine tool manufacturer's perspective.

Larraitz Pérez Martinez, Administration Officer

Larraitz Perez is a qualified Senior Technician in Business Administration and Management from the School of Management (2001), a Senior Technician in Administration and Finance from CIFP IURRETA (2008), a Graduate in Business Studies (2010) and has a Master's Degree MBA – with Financial Management mention (2014) from the University of Mondragón.

With over 15 years’ experience in administration and management, during her professional career she has worked in several industrial companies in the area, until 2008, when she embarked on her career in the Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Network, joining IK4 as head of administration and executive secretary and later, in 2020, the BRTA.

She is currently Head of Administration at the BRTA, leading the consortium's administration department, supporting the general management and coordinating the proper internal management of the alliance.

Unai Zabala Gonzalez, Communications Officer

Unai Zabala has a degree in Audiovisual Communication (Mondragon Unibertsitatea, 2019) and a Master's in Digital Marketing (Mondragon Unibertsitatea, 2021). During his professional career he has worked as a production assistant and communications technician. His most outstanding skills are in the field of graphic design, data analysis and interpretation, video and event management. During his professional career he has worked in several companies as a communications technician, in particular at the IDEKO R&D Centre. Currently, he is the Communications Officer at the BRTA (Basque Research & Technology Alliance) and his main activity is based on the promotion of the BRTA's activity on a local and global level.