Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado (Madrid, 64 years old) is one of the most recognized voices in the housing sector in Spain. His entrepreneurial spirit and his nose for business have led him to found more than 50 companies throughout his life and not all of them focused on brick, an activity that he combines with the production and marketing of extra virgin olive oil on a family farm. in the province of Toledo. Currently, he holds the presidency of Vía Ágora, Lignum Tech, Lignum Tech Forest, Rehabiterm, Fundación Gómez-Pintado and Finca La Pontezuela. He also presides over the Association of Developers and Builders of Spain (APCEspaña) and the Building Cluster and is a member of the Board of Directors of the CEOE.Question. He is at the head of several companies and associations. How many hours do you work a day? Answer. A while ago I asked my secretary Lorena to keep track of all the meetings in each of the companies and organizations and they work for 14 hour days, not counting Saturdays. Q. With 14-hour days it is difficult to be stress-free.R. It would be absurd to say that I don't have stress, because I also think that after the pandemic I am more stressed, more agitated. Now, I consider that stress is good. It always keeps you alert, keeps you alive, with the spark for your daily life.P. How do you combat it? A. I validate stress by reading, playing sports or in the countryside, it is the best way. The farm is still work, although I take it almost as a hobby.P. He talks about Finca La Pontezuela, located in the Montes de Toledo region, and which is dedicated to the production and marketing of extra virgin olive oil. Where does his passion for the countryside come from? R. My parents. We have had the family farm for almost 50 years, my parents went to live there very young. We built the oil mill after my father died.P. Its oil has more than 72 national and international awards. Before taking command, did you know anything about this world? A. Absolutely nothing. Beyond the four explanations that my father had given me, or that I listened to my father, it was something totally unknown. The world of olive groves and extra virgin olive oil has been a discovery for me and it hooks you a lot. For me the farm is the point of connection with them, with my parents, who unfortunately are no longer here.P. Is it more engaging than a brick? A. Much more. Because, in addition, it has that contact with nature that in the end the real estate world does not have. The real estate world has a lot of business and is very beautiful, and I like it a lot. It is another of my passions, but it does not have the contact of nature.P. What have you looked at when you had to buy a home? A. Something I often tell my wife is that when she was 18, I passed by where I live now one day, and I thought 'I would like to live here.' And in the end I ended up living there. I don't like a single-family house, because you go out onto the street and you're not in the city and I'm very urban, I like to have services very close and not have to take the car for anything. I have Retiro (Madrid) four minutes walk away. That's what I pay attention to.P. How do you take care of yourself? A. I take great care of my diet and it comes mainly from my marathon days. I have practically eliminated saturated fats and I do not consume milk. I stopped drinking it when I was doing marathons and I haven't drunk milk in 25 or 28 years. I ingest calcium through yogurt.P. What do you think is your greatest virtue? A. I think I have a lot of empathy. This runs in the family. My father had a lot of empathy in relationships with people and I think I have learned that.P. Are you a traveler? A. A lot.P. Any pending trips? A. It has been two years since I have been able to go up to the northern lands to see the northern lights because we depend on the weather. I have it pending. The last trip was this Easter to Bordeaux because I didn't know the city and because I wanted to see the Wine Museum and get some ideas for the interpretation center of the estate's olive grove.P. Do you like wine? A. I love it. The only alcohol I drink is wine.Q. What type of reading attracts you most? A. I like biographies, historical and philosophical readings. I have just reread Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics for the third time. I am very surprised and admired by the very advanced thoughts they had at that time and that are totally current. And the book I am reading now is Why the West Rules…for Now?, which makes a comparative analysis of the evolution of man between the East and the West.P. What sport do you practice? A. I do spinning and then exercises to strengthen my muscles, which is good for my back. It is nothing comparable to what I trained when I did marathons.P. Do you have any pending accounts? A. One of the things I am focusing a lot on is the capacity for change or impact that I can generate, and above all, at a sector level. Since I started I believe that there have been impacts and processes of change. For example, mortgage guarantees for young people is an idea that I brought to Spain 9 or 10 years ago and I had to preach a lot in the desert. And now everything that has to do with the industrialization of the real estate sector, so that it really is an industry.P. Have you thought about retirement? A. No. I believe that if a person treasures something over the years, it is experiences and they cannot be lost. In the end it is also a selfish issue because for me feeling useful is transcendental. Over the years I believe that you can have a business activity from another point of view, without being in the day to day, from a creative point of view…Here you can consult the latest 'After work' interviewsFollow all the information on Economy and Business on Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter
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