Sara Ortiz Astiz, Financial and Strategy Director of CIC energiGUNE, AMPEA’s “Female Talent Award”

The awards of the Association of Professional and Business Women of Alava recognise the talent and professional excellence of women who are benchmarks for their careers, strategic vision, capacity for innovation and transformational leadership.

The “Management” category, in which the financial and strategy director of CIC energiGUNE has been awarded, specifically rewards leadership capacity, the achievement of objectives and creativity in business management, as well as the promotion and development of good practices in management.

Sara Ortiz Astiz, financial and strategy director of CIC energiGUNE, a Basque research centre that is a benchmark in electrochemical energy storage, thermal energy storage and conversion and hydrogen technologies, has been awarded the “Female Talent Award” by the Association of Professional and Business Women of Alava (AMPEA) in the “Management” category. Established in 2000, the aim of these awards is to recognise the talent and professional excellence of women leaders in Alava who are benchmarks for their careers, strategic vision, capacity for innovation and transformational leadership.

“Sara’s work at CIC energiGUNE has been fundamental since the start-up of the centre, contributing to all the successes we have achieved in recent years, both in scientific and industrial terms. She has also been a key figure in materialising our commitment to equal opportunities and work-life balance among all the members of our team,” said Nuria Gisbert, CEO of CIC energiGUNE. “It is, without a doubt, a very well-deserved award; Sara is a reference for the entire organisation”, she said.

The “Management” category, in which Sara Ortiz has been recognised, specifically rewards leadership capacity, the achievement of objectives and creativity in business management, as well as the development of good practices in management, with special emphasis on the promotion of equal opportunities and professional and personal conciliation. It also aims to be a public recognition of her career and professional trajectory, in which factors of effort and professional involvement are combined with high levels of management knowledge to generate resources, achievements and benefits.

Currently, and since 2016, Sara Ortiz Astiz is the Economic-Financial and Strategy Director of CIC energiGUNE. She joined the centre in 2010 as Assistant to the Corporate Development Directorate, collaborating in the start-up phase of the centre.

Within her responsibilities, Sara Ortiz has played an important role in the process of development, expansion and consolidation of CIC energiGUNE since its inception, playing a key role in achieving the recognition that the centre currently enjoys in terms of scientific excellence and cutting-edge, sustainable infrastructures and equipment.

All this has enabled the organisation to obtain recognition such as the HRS4R certificate of research excellence awarded by the European Commission, as well as being named by the prestigious SCIMAGO ranking as the most important Research Foundation at European and Latin American level in any branch of knowledge. Hence, the award highlights Sara Ortiz’s firm commitment to innovation and sustainability in order to achieve these achievements.

She has also played an important role in the development of the current ecosystem of companies generated by the scientific activity of CIC energiGUNE. Thus, she has been the driving force and leader of the launching and start-up processes of the centre’s two spin-offs: Bcare in 2018 and Basquevolt in 2022. Sara Ortiz still plays a relevant role in both, being part of the Board of Directors of Bcare as well as advisor to the Board of Directors of Basquevolt. The prize awarded by AMPEA has also recognised her work, highlighting her contribution to the social and economic wealth of Alava through the generation of an ecosystem of high value and impact for the territory.

Finally, the award also highlighted her commitment to promoting equal opportunities and the reconciliation of personal and professional life, as she is a member of CIC energiGUNE’s equality and inclusion and ethics committees. Likewise, her ability to adapt to all kinds of situations has also been recognised, as well as her commitment to continually updating her knowledge.

This is the third time that CIC energiGUNE has received a “Female Talent Award” from AMPEA. In 2019, the director of the centre, Nuria Gisbert, and in 2021, the scientific director in the Thermal Energy Storage Area, Elena Palomo, received the award in the “Women and Science” category.