It is the fourth week of February. Madrid is bathed in sunlight after days of cold and rain. At 12:30 p.m., the temperature is mild. Demócrata has traveled to Alcobendas, home to the headquarters of Indra Group. There, its president, Ángel Escribano, awaits us for an exclusive interview.t, Ángel Escribano, awaits us to give an exclusive interview to our outlet and for our users.
The room is large. Well lit. It is one in the afternoon. The scheduled time to conduct the interview. Next to the door, a curious steel sculpture by Calatrava receives us. It seems like we are in space. Everything is diaphanous, modern. A huge hologram explains Indra's technological evolution.
The schedule of the president of Indra gets complicated. The meeting scheduled before ours runs long. During that time, we study, review the material, walk around the facilities. It is full of young people. Around three in the afternoon, Ángel Escribano opens the door and greets everyone who has traveled there. We show him his seat for the interview chair to him. He smiles and takes it. He tells us in advance that he will answer everything he can... So, the moment has arrived. Lights. Action...
Ángel Escribano, president of Indra Group, at a moment during the interview exclusively for Demócrata. Photo: Demócrata.
Q.- Mr. Escribano, as president of Indra and given your knowledge of the defence sector, I understand that the pertinent request, at this moment, is for you to draw us the snapshot of the EU's strategic sovereignty
A.- Strategic sovereignty is quickly summarized. We need to have an industry again, like the one we had a long time ago. For budgetary reasons, all countries have been investing less. And it is evident that we have become more dependent on other countries that supplied us. But we have had to witness the invasion of Ukraine to realize that we have lost a large part of the capabilities we had in the past. We have to recover them. This does not mean that we have to invent them, because, technologically, we do have the technology. What we didn't have were the means and the factories to implement them. Furthermore, those factories ended up closing because they had no workload. But now, that workload does exist and we have to take advantage of the opportunity and the productive capacities that we already have. Also in Spain. In this regard, there is a phrase I hear a lot, which states that Spain is 20 years behind other countries. I totally doubt that.
Q.- How is the defense sector in Spain right now?
A.- Well, in Spain we have a good range of companies that have been growing, depending on the budgets we had and the needs that existed in the past. But now, those budgets are growing and so are the needs. You will see how quickly everything is organized to regain that capacity! I insist, we have the technological capacity, but what happens is that we had not started to implement it.
Q.- What transformative role has Indra played in this change of decisions?
R.- Indra is a very large company that pulls the value chain. In fact, we are the company that pulls its value chain the most, and that is collaborating the most with the entire Spanish value chain in defense. Before, there were parts of that chain that were bought outside of Spain. But this has changed. We, internally, have already given an indication. It's over. We must try to find national producers, make them competitive, work with them, and create that ecosystem. So, I believe that the best thing we have done in this company is to read the message that has been given to us, at a time when there have been unfortunate criticisms or comments, due to a lack of accepting reality.
Q.- And, what is the message?
A.- Last year we understood the message that was given to us. And it is that we have to grow and gain size. And, well, that's why we started buying the factories we needed, and buying equipment. We started to resize the staff. But, I will tell you, interpreting the reading and the map of the defense strategy -which, it seems everyone knows, for example, when they talk about corridors and where activities want to be centralized- is not simple. That's why I maintain that we have to look at that map, understand it, go to meetings, pay attention, and see what is being said, and not wait to see if we win the lottery.
Read the Defense Map
Q.- Are you referring to someone?
A.- No, no… I say it in general. I believe that we read it well and, if apparently, the defense budget rises, as we all read in the press or see on television, and they say that this budget is going to grow, that Europe is going to invest x money, and that within that money, productive capacities must be developed in the EU and in each of the countries. Well then, let's do things. And, we have been brave and risky and, with a certain certainty, because, as I told you before, we have understood the message, and perhaps other companies were not understanding it.
Q.- Did you do that reading when you arrived at Indra, or was it already done?
A.- My union with Indra is from more than 25 years ago. I started working at Indra as a supplier, with components that they bought from me. Then, I was a mini-company, where my father, my brother, and I worked. And I was a supplier for the supply chain. They bought whatever from us, everything… We had that ambition. And we started working, and we were lucky to work. But there was also a moment when we no longer worked with them, because we decided to make a series of products that had nothing to do with Indra. Besides, we were lucky to put it on the market. We were not competition.
Q.- And there is a jump in time, and you arrive at Indra
R. I arrive and there is already a Strategic Plan. A plan that asks to increase capacity and, I will tell you, that plan seemed tailor-made. Because it said: we must increase capacities. And, well, I don't know how to do anything else but work, and always from the industrial side. When my father started his own company, I was 13 years old. So, I have known this industry for 40 years.
Interview with the president of Indra, Ángel Escribano. Photo: Demócrata.
"I consider myself a dreamer"
Q.- What value does SMEs have for you?
A.- Well, you see, Indra is not a company that was created and was called Indra. Indra is the sum of a lot of companies throughout the company's history, which came together to create what Indra is today, of which almost 62,000 workers are a part.
Q.- What projects are you most proud of?
A.- Without a doubt, if I had discovered it from within, because I already knew it from the outside, of the capacity that this company has, because, otherwise, I would not have been an investor in Indra. And, yes, I think what has struck me the most is that there is a group of people, a large group, that is very worthwhile. There is a great company project behind this.
Q.- What mark has he managed to leave on Indra in the year he has been president?
A.- I consider myself a dreamer and a citizen who comes here to do his job. That is why I believe that, perhaps, the best thing I can do is to convey to people the enthusiasm for a project. And, Indra's project is clear, because it is undoubtedly the enthusiasm of a great project, which, moreover, people see. They see that we are here for many hours, that we are eager to create a great company. I only hope to be able to spread it. That is why I insist that Indra's human capital is very important.
Q.- What prospects does the president of Indra have for the year 2026?
A.- To launch the great challenge we have ahead. And, there are all the contracts we have received. We have to launch all the factories -some are already running-. We are making all the contracted investments; also hiring all the personnel. Therefore, Indra's great challenge for 2026 is to turn the company into a major systems manufacturer.
Q.- For that, you need to have a good team
A.- And we have it. We have a fairly well-organized team of engineers and technicians. A team that is concerned with studying in detail what makes sense in the market. Because, nothing is invented anymore. We have to see where the market is going and what the trends are. We have to be sure that this product will make sense, and that only three or four companies have it.
Q.- What importance does Vocational Training have for Indra?
R.- A large part of Indra's workers, especially in the last two or three years, is coming -of course from university too-, above all, from Vocational Training. It is one of the main attractions for young people who study from Mechatronics, Electronics, Mechanics. And it is normal, because they are in the centers where we have the most production, as is the case in Madrid, Asturias, and Córdoba.
The capabilities of our industry and the work of our youth
P. Spain committed to NATO to undertake defense spending of 2% of GDP. Is this how this spending is being executed? Is it going to be like this? Does it need to be increased?
A.- Well, let's see. It's a question I can't answer. I would rather talk about investment in our security and way of life. If 2% is what we can afford, then it will be 2%. I can't give an answer. It's a question you'll have to ask elsewhere.
Exclusive interview of Demócrata, to the president of Indra Group, Ángel Escribano. Photo: Demócrata.
Q. Have you ever said that it’s not so much about whether it’s 2% or not, but whether that investment is efficient?
A.- Well, the most important thing, from my point of view, is that the investment being made in Defense stays at home. We must develop the capabilities of our industry, develop that our young people have better jobs, the best companies, here, where we live, and that we are the ones who pay the taxes to be able to pay for this investment. It is certainly not debatable.
Q. What is Indra's role in the geopolitical context and on the international stage?
A.- Internationally, we are building new alliances and, of course, also reconverting ambition. Last year, our firm order portfolio worldwide amounted to 2.8 billion. And, of course, we work to increase as much as we can and more. But it is also true that we have penetrated very important and large-scale markets, such as the contract we won this year in England, Transform London, which is an impressive contract of more than 1.2 billion, which positions us directly as one of the most important mobility companies in the world. We have also secured another relevant contract in the United States, which has to do with air traffic, ATM. And, here I always use a simile. And it is that there is not a single plane flying over the world that, at some point, does not pass through Indra's air traffic control. It doesn't matter where you go; if you are in this country, or in the next one, because, in some way, you always pass through some control point related to Indra, or Indra's radars. So, if we are not number one, we are number two. But it doesn't matter, because we are going to become the benchmark company for air traffic.
Q. I am going to ask you a somewhat uncomfortable question, which is topical
A.- If it is uncomfortable, you don't need to ask it.
Q.- Well, I'll ask it and you tell me... We have seen that, suddenly, the media are echoing a lawsuit filed by Santa Barbara against the Government for a contract of more than 6 billion without public tender. How does Indra digest that? Is it opportune? Is it an interpretation that the rest of us mortals don't understand? What chances does that lawsuit have of succeeding?
A.- Well, I think that lawsuit is not against Indra.
The only thing we can do is wait and be at the disposal of what they tell us.
Sincerely, each one does what they want. I think they -Santa Barbara- have made a decision, which is that one – the appeal – and it seems to me that, of course, it is misguided. But each one makes the decisions they want, according to their own criteria.
Q.- Here, in this appeal, a character appears, Iván Redondo, who has worked for the Government. Could it therefore be an appeal from the 'Government', let's put it that way, against the Government?
A.- I don't think he is in the Government. I think he was. But well, each one knows.
Q.- Is Indra above all this?
A.- Of course. We have to be above that kind of thing, and we'll see if the outcome affects us, or not. All we can do is wait, and be at the disposal of what they tell us.
Q.- Are you calm?
A.- We are very calm.
Q.- But do you have any idea how it will progress?
A.- Well, time will tell, and it will be what justice decides.
Ángel Escribano, during the interview granted exclusively to Demócrata. Photo: Demócrata.
P. Marco Rubio, in his speech last weekend at the Munich Security Conference, made a passionate defense of relations between the United States and Europe. He reviews that defense is not an abstraction. That defense is security and, he points out that, after World War II, we are getting a little lost with climate change, and we are not correctly reading the need to have our own defense.
A.- The reality is that Europe has made fewer investments than other countries, and now it will be up to us to catch up at the speed we can. Not everything can be for tomorrow. It must be done with a plan. Things must be done thoughtfully, taking the necessary steps, between now and 2030; then to 2035… First of all, the entire industry must also be trained. You can't have a budget of X, multiply it by three, and expect your industry to absorb it. What we must do, as I said before, is be all prepared and capable of doing it. That's why I always say that I don't accept what those people say who repeat that they haven't been given anything, when they haven't prepared themselves. But these people do nothing but wait to be given things.
The relationship with the CEO, José Vicente de los Mozos
Q.- Are you referring to any company that was used to being given projects?
A.- This is like going out for a run one day, and being told, ‘well, I haven’t gone running for 20 years, and I have some paranoia and dreams on the couch, you wouldn’t believe it’. And of course - I add - then the day of the race arrives, and you put on your shorts and want to run more than this guy, who has been running for 20 years. And, man, that gives the impression that you haven’t made an effort. Right?
Q.- To make good decisions, you also need a good CEO. Are you comfortable with José Vicente de los Mozos?
A.- José Vicente (de los Mozos) and I are totally aligned with the company's project. It has been very easy for me. I know it has been easy for him too. For my part, I have the experience of having worked with my brother, so I was trained not to make decisions alone. So, with José Vicente it has been the same, because he is totally aligned with me, with the industrial part, and because he is also a self-made man. And, yes, José brings me something very important: the day-to-day. Besides, he is a down-to-earth person, with whom I have an excellent professional relationship and, why not say it, of personal friendship in the best sense of the word. We spend the day together, here, at the company. We have traveled a lot - which is not so normal either - to be very detailed about the business. We get along well. The team sees it. And that is very important for the teams, because they see that there is good harmony. And if there is good harmony at the top, then that good harmony goes from top to bottom. I can only say that, lately, the company is much more transversal and the business units work much better.
Q.- What is the social responsibility highlight of Indra Group?
A.- I will tell you that we are creating a foundation. We didn't have it, and I think that's very important. This Monday, I was at the presentation of the Spanish Paralympic team, in which Indra will be one of the sponsors of all disciplines. As he mentioned, at this event, held at the Italian Embassy - where the new outfits for the boys and girls who will go to the Winter Olympics were presented -, I met the young woman who will be the flag bearer. She was very excited. I had the luck to take a photo with her. And, as I say, I am convinced that she will win, and moreover, she will win several medals, she and her teammates. They are super motivated. So, yes, I will watch the Olympics. Well, and we are also in other sports. This will be the first year that we will accompany a Formula 1 team, which starts in two or three weeks in Australia. In any case, we must not forget that we created IndraMind, as a state-of-the-art tool for many things, in AI, in data management. Something I am very proud of, because, what it's all about, is for Indra to be in the market and on the street, and above all, to make Spaniards feel that Indra is a great brand and also a great global technology company.
Demócrata concludes the interview with Mr. Escribano, and arranges with him to learn about the development of Indra Group. Photo: Democrat
"The objective is to be the best tech company in the country"
Q.- I haven't mentioned the term champion
A.- Yes, it's not that I don't like being a champion, obviously, but it doesn't fully please me. Besides, what we have to do is demonstrate that we are that great technology company and our goal is to go out and be the best in the country. Will we achieve it or not? I think so. Let's see if we achieve it.
Q.- Shall we arrange to see it?
A.- Of course
It is almost four in the afternoon, and none of those present at this interview have eaten. The president of Indra, neither. He thanks us for understanding the time delay. And he asks us if everything has been recorded well. Just in case, we have recorded it twice. We say goodbye, and we make plans. Oh!, and before leaving, he confesses to us that he likes to go to the Santiago Bernabéu to watch Real Madrid matches. Although -he admits-, "I am from Atlético de Madrid" and, the other day -he added- "I did not go to see Real Madrid-Sociedad". Are we left with the doubt of who he would have liked to win?