Benito Jiménez, General Manager of Congelados de Navarra, 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year Award

At noon today the annual event of the business magazine “Negocios en Navarra” (Business in Navarra) was held at the Tres Reyes Hotel in Pamplona.

During the event, the President of the Government of Navarra, Mrs. Uxue Barkos, presented the "Entrepreneur of the Year" award.

Benito Jiménez Cambra, founder and majority owner of Congelados de Navarra, was chosen as the winner from several nominees.

Among other achievements, the jury highlighted the creation of wealth for the 2,000 farmers who supply the produce, as well as for the 800 employees in the company, and what this means in terms of solidifying and developing the rural economy in which the four Congelados de Navarra factories are based.

In accepting the award, Benito Jiménez recalled how hard the road has been but also how much fun it's been. But instead of merely reminiscing about the past, he wanted to look towards the future. First, you have to dream about the future before you can make it a reality. A future where we aim to make Congelados de Navarra not the biggest, but the "best frozen vegetable company in the world". He stressed that to achieve this we have to grow and to do so we have to generate new projects that move beyond trading internationally to the next level of trading on a global scale, not only to generate business for the company but also to generate wealth in the area where we are based. Finally, he thanked those who have supported him over the years: his wife Ana Carmen, his family and Congelados de Navarra employees.

The winner was accompanied by his family and by a group of managers and Congelados de Navarra employees. It bears noting that the first ten employees to work at the Company are still there today, 20 years later, and they continue contributing to the growth and success of the company from various positions in middle and top management.

Those of us who are involved with Congelados de Navarra can proudly feel that to some extent this award belongs to all of us.

The day the prize was presented almost coincides with the date the company was founded, February 18, 1998. This has to be an incentive to continue working together for our own personal development as well as that of the company and our external collaborators such as farmers and suppliers and ultimately for the continued benefit of the society that we are part of.