The Chair for Management by Missions and Corporate Purpose at UIC Barcelona hosted a new edition of the Chair Breakfasts featuring Domènec Melé, Professor Emeritus at IESE Business School and expert in business ethics. Under the title Foundations for a Humanistic Person-centred Company – coinciding with his book – the session offered a reflection on the role of the person at the heart of business activity.

Melé argued that the growing recognition of the importance of people in the business environment is not always accompanied by a true humanist vision. Against this reductionist view that considers people as mere resources, the professor defended a conception of the company as a community of persons, each with intrinsic dignity, engaged in ongoing human development.

During his presentation, he explained how people-centred business management does not exclude efficiency or profit but rather directs them towards higher ends such as the common good, sustainability, and social justice. “The humanist company is not defined solely by what it produces, but by how and for whom it does so,” he emphasised.

Ordained priest in 1983, Domènec Melé holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and a PhD in Theology from the University of Navarra. He has published more than 70 academic articles and book chapters and has devoted over three decades to research in economic ethics, management philosophy, and spirituality in business.

The Chair Breakfasts are meetings organised by the Chair for Management by Missions and Corporate Purpose at UIC Barcelona, promoted by the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences in collaboration with DPMC Spain. These gatherings encourage dialogue between the academic and business worlds around purpose and meaningful management.