The Riberas family is one of Spain’s most prominent business families, due to their ownership of Gestamp Automoción, Spain’s largest automotive steel company, which supplies steel parts for automotive manufacturers throughout Europe. The Riberas family’s business journey started when family patriarch Francisco Riberas Pampliega founded a metal shop with three friends called Gonvarri in 1958. A decade later, his partners resigned from the company, and Francisco was able to execute his vision of becoming a major player in the sector. At that time, his two sons, Francisco J. Riberas Mera and Juan María Riberas Mera, joined the family business and learned from their father. In the late 1990s, Francisco J. Riberas Mera had the vision to spin off a second company from Gonvarri and call it Gestamp Automoción. When the new century rolled around, the two brothers acted as CEOs of the two main family companies. For his part, Francisco J. Riberas Mera earned degrees in Law and Economics and Business Administration from the University Pontificia de Comillas in Madrid. Following his graduation, he immediately joined the family business and worked in Business Management at Gonvarri. He later became the Director of Corporate Development before ascending to the position of CEO. Juan María Riberas Mera followed a similar path, earning degrees in Business and Law before joining Gonvarri in 1992.
