Ignacio Rivera (Estrella Galicia): “Money doesn’t change you, but love or health does”

Ignacio Rivera (A Coruña, 1965) was led by a twist of fate to the family business. When he was 22, his brother Moncho, who was destined to lead the brewing group, died and he was called to work. “I shouldn’t be here, he should be here,” he always says when asked. He started from the bottom, in a company with five family branches that is now in its fourth generation without having given up even a millimetre of ownership to outside investors. The interview takes place at Mega, the Estrella Galicia museum in A Coruña.Question. Where do they pour the beers the best?Answer. Here, in A Coruña, at the Cuatro Caminos brewery. And in Madrid, at the Estrella Galicia brewery (he smiles). In Madrid there has always been a bit more of a culture of pouring beers. Now they pour them just as well here, the culture of drinking beer has improved a lot.Q. A drink other than beer?A. If I had to choose, I'd stick with whisky.P. Where are you at in your life?A. Happy, but on many fronts.P. Being Galician, how do you deal with living in Madrid?A. It's a city that embraces you, although sometimes it embraces you so much that you have to be careful not to be overwhelmed. However, there are other cities where it's much harder to integrate. My mother was from Madrid and I'm very happy here. My children are in school in Madrid and I live between Madrid and A Coruña.P. Do you think that surnames open doors? Did they help you?A. I don't think so, they close them. Sometimes you're compared to one more member of a family. However, when you don't have the (famous) surname, you're no longer compared to anyone.P. Do you think that having money changes people?A. No, never.P. You have so much that it might not change you…A. You have to have a minimum, and from then on it doesn't change you. When you have some money you can't want to have more. It allows you to live well, but it doesn't change you. Love or health change you, money doesn't. Q. Do you notice the rise in your shopping basket? A. I'm a strange buyer, I usually look at what's most expensive in each category, I don't go looking for the cheapest, so I confess that I don't notice it. I look for the expensive because I understand that it's better, but it annoys me that sometimes the price differences are not justified. I shop, I cook, I like to go to the market to buy fish. [pescado].P. How do you sleep?A. I slept well, 12 hours on weekends until six months ago. Lately I've been sleeping worse.P. Do you do any sport?A. A lot. I run, play tennis, I have a personal trainer, I ski, I play paddle tennis.P. What advice would be good for you now?A. Maybe to calm down a bit, to be methodical in my free time. I can't quite switch off.P. What advice do you give?A. That we're here for a short time and that we have to be happy.Here you can check out the latest 'After work' interviews. Follow all the information about Economy and Business on Facebook and Twitter. Xor in our weekly newsletter