GMV participates in the Space & Defense Industry Seville Summit 2023

On October 25 and 26, the Fibes I Exhibition and Congress Center in Seville hosted the fourth year of the Space & Defense Industry Sevilla Summit 2023. GMV participated alongside other companies in the space and defense industry to analyze the new challenges in the fields of security, defense, and space and emphasize the technological capacity and skills of a domestic and European business fabric capable of successfully facing the challenges arising in the future.

The institutional opening of the event was in charge of the Commissioner for the Space & Defense Industry Sevilla Summit 2023, Joan Clos, former Mayor of Barcelona and former Minister of the Government of Spain, together with the third Deputy Mayor of Seville, Álvaro Pimentel. The opening ceremony was also attended by José Carlos Gómez Villamandos, Minister of University, Research and Innovation of the Regional Government of Andalusia, and remotely by the Secretary of State for Defense (SEDEF), María Amparo Valcarce.

Over two days, important figures from the sector and similar sectors analyzed the current situation the defense, national security, and aerospace industry is experiencing and the challenges it will face, from recruiting tech talent to the need for long-term planning insulated from political changes, involving preparation of security systems for cyber threats and the capacity for technological autonomy in an unstable geopolitical context.

GMV's Corporate Strategy Director, Jorge Potti, took part in the session entitled “Defense, industry and science: key factors for greater efficiency,” where he analyzed the role of Spain's space industry, which accounts for 8% of Europe's industry. He also highlighted the robustness of the sector today, emphasizing its strategic nature and its impact on the economy. He also noted that for a sector of high technological value such as the space sector, which also generates high-quality employment, programs must be developed to promote collaboration and cooperation between companies, as well as public-private collaboration.

In his talk, he also highlighted how the development of space technology contributes to the sustainability of the planet. At the same time, he expressed the need to address the challenges arising from space debris and implement a global space traffic management system. He also cited the tremendous opportunities for both industry and GMV in European space programs such as Galileo or IRIS2 and the space exploration agreements between the various space agencies. Finally, he stressed the importance of continuing to carry out large-scale projects to attract talent and promote STEM vocations.

On Wednesday, November 23, GMV's CEO, Jesús Serrano, opened the session on “Space and defense: an efficient and essential duo.” In his talk, GMV’s CEO stressed the importance of satellites and space infrastructure in the current and future context as essential assets both for our society and our security forces and agencies. He also pointed out how these space activities bring with them new threats, which also need to be addressed with cutting-edge systems.

Serrano highlighted the need for government investment in the space sector, both in the civil and military sectors, and stressed how important it is for Spain to play a relevant role at the international level and for investments to be in line with its relative weight in terms of GDP. While he commended the government's commitment to allocate 2% of GDP to defense by 2029, he stressed that a portion of these resources should be directed towards significantly increasing investments in space systems for defense and security. He also assured that the Spanish space sector has the technology, talent, and competitiveness necessary to address the challenges posed by the public administration to achieve these objectives. 

GMV’s notable participation at the summit emphasizes not only the company’s commitment to innovation and technological development in fields such as space and defense but also the company’s position of leadership in the sectors.