Adolfo Plaza, Ikerlan’s new chairman

Technology and Innovation for the improvement of the competitiveness of the Services Sector

Adolfo Plaza, the Chairman of Laboral Kutxa and now the new Chairman of Ikerlan, has taken over from José Miguel Lazkanotegi on completion of his four-year term of office.

May 24, 2024

Adolfo Plaza, the Chairman of Laboral Kutxa, has been appointed as Ikerlan’s new Chairman by the technology centre’s Governing Council. Mr. Plaza will replace José Miguel Lazkanotegi, the Corporate Manager of Technology Innovation at Orona, on completion of the latter’s four-year term of office.

2023 was a landmark year for Ikerlan, with a record turnover of €30.8m and two-figure growth in its business revenue

Adolfo Plaza Izagirre (Bilbao, 1978) has a degree in Business Management and Administration and an MBA in Advanced Management from Deusto University. He has developed his entire professional career in the Basque Country and is very closely linked to the cooperative world and the financial sector. He began his career at Deloitte, carrying out audit functions at the main financial institutions in the Basque Country and Navarra, and in 2006 he joined the cooperative credit bank Ipar Kutxa to head the Internal Audit and Risk Control Department.

In 2013 the bank merged with Caja Laboral and he was actively involved in this process, after which he became Chief Operating Officer of the MONDRAGON cooperative and in 2015 he was appointed Secretary of its Governing Council and a member of the Audit Committee.

Later, after having been the Director of the Management Planning and Control Department, in 2019 he joined the Management Committee of Laboral Kutxa as the Head of the Financial Department. Finally, he was appointed Chairman of Laboral Kutxa at the General Meeting in 2023, a post he combines with those of Vice-Chairman of the Financial Division of Mondragon and Chairman of Seguros Lagun Aro, also participating in the Management Council of Lagun Aro EPSV.

Enthusiasm and commitment

In the words of Ikerlan’s new Chairman, “Becoming the Chairman of Ikerlan in its 50th anniversary year is particularly exciting and a recognition of the role played by Laboral Kutxa in its origins. 50 years have gone by, but this has just begun and we need to look to the future. Together with the team of over 400 highly qualified professionals we will continue to create cooperative jobs in cutting-edge areas of technology, prioritising knowledge transfer and the professionals in our local area”.

On behalf of Ikerlan, the Governing Council thanked José Miguel Lazkanotegi for his invaluable contribution to the Technology Centre during his time as Chairman and welcomed Adolfo Plaza to his new post, which he will effectively take on as from 23 May 2024

His investiture takes place in a very special year for Ikerlan, as it is the 50th anniversary of its creation, to which a vital contribution was made by Caja Laboral, the Higher Polytechnic School of Mondragón and several cooperatives belonging to the current MONDRAGON Corporation.

2023 was a landmark year for Ikerlan, with a record turnover of €30.8m and two-figure growth in its business revenue. It success comes from its close collaboration with Basque and international companies and the work done by its team of highly qualified professionals, who were joined by 46 new recruits in 2023, with the consolidation of 18 new members.

About Ikerlan

Ikerlan is a leading centre in technology transfer and in providing competitive value to the industrial sector. It offers comprehensive solutions combining different technological domains in three main areas: digital technologies and artificial intelligence, embedded electronic systems and cybersecurity, and mechatronic and energy-related technologies. It currently has a team of 420 people and offices in Arrasate-Mondragón, Donostialdea and Bilbao.

Ikerlan is a member cooperative of the MONDRAGON Corporation and the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), and represents a sustainable, competitive business model in permanent transformation. In 2024, Ikerlan celebrates its 50th anniversary and remains faithful to its founding objective: developing technology and training people to enhance the innovation and competitiveness of the companies in its environment.