Shock over the death in accident of Romualdo Alvargonzález, “exemplary” shipping company

Romualdo Alvargonzález Figaredo from Gijón, president of the Ership group –a conglomerate of companies mainly dedicated to maritime and port activity–, member of the BBVA Advisory Council, president of the Alvargonzález Foundation, member of the board of trustees of the Naval Museum and the Naval Foundation of the Navy and Honorary Consul of Finland and former councilor of El Musel, died last Saturday at the age of 71 in a tragic traffic accident in Cantabria, when the car in which he was traveling alone was crushed by the trailer that came loose from a truck. His death caused a shock among the Asturian business community, among people linked to port areas and in a large part of society. “Excellent person”, “exceptional guy”, “exemplary businessman”, “gentleman with a British touch”, “trustworthy person”, “committed to Asturias” are some of the qualifiers that were repeated yesterday not only by friends and relatives, but also people who had a less intense relationship with him.

Romualdo Alvargonzález, in an image taken in 2016. | Marcos Leon

At the business level, Romualdo was in charge of the family business group together with his brother Gonzalo Alvargonzález, with Gonzalo in charge of the part of the business linked to the shipping sector and Romualdo of the rest, among which the port activity of a group that stands out. Under his leadership, it became the leading company with Spanish capital in the movement of bulk and food products. Ership currently has some 900 employees in Spain alone and also has an important presence in Colombia and is also active in the United States, China and Panama. The origin of the group was the Alvargonzález shipping company and the qualitative leap was made by taking over the entire capital of Ership (merger of two companies with an ancient maritime tradition titled: Transport, Customs and Consignments and Auxiliary of Maritime Transport), a company in which initially entered as a minority shareholder.

Romualdo Alvargonzález had lived in Madrid for five years, where his wife, the notary Pilar Boulet, had previously moved for professional reasons and where his daughter Pilar studied industrial engineering, who this year finished her studies at the ICAI, which her father pointed out as a source of pride. Despite having established his residence in Madrid, Romualdo Alvargonzález visited Gijón regularly, where he frequently worked Friday and Monday at the company’s offices in Gijón and took advantage of the weekend to be with family and friends.

The love for the sea permeated him from a young age, fostered by his father, Juan Alvargonzález de la Buelga, who in the family home “made a cabin on a ship, beautiful, and little by little all the children became familiar with everything maritime. “His brother Juan Alvargonzález explained yesterday. “Our upbringing was Spartan; our father raised us in moderation and instilled in us the values ​​of the Navy; honesty and loyalty,” he added.

This motivated Romualdo Alvargonzález to enter the Naval Military School in 1972, after having studied high school at the Jesuit College in Gijón, eventually working as a Navy Officer up to the position of Naval Lieutenant. While he was serving in the Navy, he graduated in economics from UNED.

Finally, he left the Navy to join the family business that he came to preside over and expand internationally. Other family members also followed in his footsteps and currently serve in the Navy. In his case, he frequently recalled, as soon as he gained confidence with his interlocutor, his military past. He also highlighted his close treatment with all his employees, also very affected.

In the management of the family business he began to collaborate “from below, as a proxy, and little by little he rose through the ranks until he was first CEO and then president,” says his brother Juan.

With a presence in 40 ports around the world and with its main offices in Madrid – where some 400 professionals work – the business group of the Alvargonzález family has always maintained its Asturian identity, maintaining its headquarters in Gijón and investing in Asturian ports, especially El Musel, where, unlike other operators, the group has made significant investments. Among other things, he is one of the architects of the Gijón port having a container terminal, of which, through various companies, the Ership group holds 50% of the capital.

Romualdo Alvargonzález, whom his friends affectionately called Ruma –because when he was younger some of them had mispronounced his name– was spending Christmas in Gijón these days. Nor did he miss the celebration of Día del Carmen, including the reception that the Navy offers at the Club de Regatas and he tried to attend the blessing of the Waters by San Pedro, patron saint of Gijón. Regular swimming in the open sea from the Club de Regatas and also in its pool, his other passions were salmon fishing and small game.

His tragic end occurred precisely when he was going to Villaprovedo (Palencia) to hunt birds, one of the places he frequented with Asturian friends for this hobby. As for fishing, he preferred the Narcea, but he also used to go to Iceland to fish for salmon. The Unicaja director, Felipe Fernández, Álvaro Fernández-Vega, the Oviedo businessman Pelayo Amantegui, the Oviedo pharmacist Eugenio Saavedra and the dentist Silverio Blanco del Campo are in that group of friends.

These and other close friends, and numerous family members, met on Saturday at the funeral home, where the businessman’s body arrived in the afternoon after his death. After that most intimate moment, the family received throughout the day yesterday at the Cabueñes funeral home. There were many who were there, some well known, including relatives such as his cousin, the former Vice President of the Government and former director of the IMF, Rodrigo Rato Figaredo; his brother-in-law and vice president for migration issues at the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas; Iván Espinosa de los Monteros and Rocío Monasterio, from Vox (friends of a family member and who spend the summer in Ribadesella) or the CEO of Atlantic Cooper, Javier Targhetta, among many others.

The funeral for his eternal rest will be officiated today, at one in the afternoon, in the church of San Julián de Somió. It will be the farewell to an illustrious man from Gijón, who never sought public notoriety.