The President of the Bertelsmann group and foundation, Liz Mohn, appealed for a new business culture based on the social undertaking for overcoming the crisis and for facing the success of globalisation. “Our slogan – explained Mohn – is that property means responsibility. Many businessmen, on a daily basis have shown how management should be linked to social undertaking and we should be inspired by them”. Mohn recalled that juvenile unemployment in Spain has reached the figure of 25% “and it is here that we should concentrate all our efforts”. The President of Bertelsmann urged businessmen to make an active undertaking in the resolution of the problems of their surroundings and, at the same time, make a serious effort in offering their employees “security, continuity and values”. “In order to change business cultures – she added – time is required, but it is a necessary task”.

Liz Mohn was awarded the Medal of Honour of the Real Academia de Ciencias Económicas y Financieras (RACEF) during the session of the opening of the academic year, which was held in the Assembly Hall of the Fomento del Trabajo Nacional. The Act was presided over by the President of the RACEF, Jaime Gil Aluja, who highlighted the business and social work of Liz Mohn and he held her up as “an example of leadership in European social society”. Liz Mohn in 2007 received the Great Cross of the Order of Civil Merit awarded by the King Juan Carlos for her work at the head of the Foundation, created in 1995 with headquarters in Barcelona. Since then it has promoted social and cultural projects and encouraged a new business culture that is sensitive to the problems of society. Mohn is also the President of the managing company of Bertelsmann, the leading communications group in Europe, with close to 400 companies and nearly 90,000 employees. The German television channel RTL or Random House, as well as numerous leading newspapers and radios make up the media presence of the group. In Spain, Bertelsmann is the owner of Circulo de Lectores and of publishers such as Grijalbo, Lumen, Plaza y Janés or Rosa del Vents, among others. Her career has been recognised with many other awards such as an  Honoris Cause doctorate for the University of Tel Aviv, for her support to Jewish-German dialogue and by the Rome Club, where she became the first female member in 1999.