Laura Sancho, Schneider Electric:“Barcelona is a highly competitive alternative to other major European technology hubs”

 
As global companies accelerate their digital transformation, Barcelona continues to stand out as a strategic hub where technology, talent, and international vision converge. Schneider Electric is one of the major players that has chosen the Catalan capital to scale its digital ambitions, establishing a global hub that is already delivering high-impact projects across regions and business lines.

In this interview, Laura Sancho, IT Director for the Iberian zone at Schneider Electric, shares why Barcelona has become a highly competitive alternative to other leading European tech cities. From the rapid growth of the company’s Digital Hub to the evolving demands for digital talent, she offers first-hand insights into how the city’s ecosystem is enabling innovation at scale, and what it will take to sustain this momentum in the years ahead.

Since 2022, Barcelona has been home to one of Schneider Electric’s global digital hubs. What differentiating factors does the city offer compared to other international ecosystems?

From our experience, Barcelona offers a combination that is very difficult to replicate in other international ecosystems. It is not only an attractive city to live in — which it is — but also an environment where talent and technology come together naturally, enabling digital projects with global impact to be developed from here.

The city has established itself as a key hub for the development of technology centers with international reach. The concentration of hubs, particularly in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, creates a density of knowledge that fosters collaboration, innovation, and rapid adoption of new technologies.

For companies such as Schneider Electric, this environment is particularly relevant due to access to highly qualified professionals. Barcelona combines a growing local talent base with strong international appeal. In our hub, professionals from more than 30 nationalities work on global projects, bringing a diversity that undoubtedly enhances innovation.

All of this positions Barcelona as a highly competitive alternative to other major European technology hubs. Not only because of the scale of its ecosystem, but also due to the type of initiatives being developed and the city’s growing role in decision-making within global organizations.

The challenge now is to sustain this evolution. The expected growth in economic impact and employment requires continued strengthening of specialized talent and collaboration between companies, institutions, and the broader ecosystem to maintain competitiveness in the medium and long term.

From this hub in Barcelona, you are leading key projects such as cloud transformation, cybersecurity, and advanced analytics on a global scale. What role does this center play within Schneider Electric’s international strategy?

The Barcelona Digital Hub is a key enabler within Schneider Electric’s global digital strategy. From this center, initiatives are led with direct impact across different regions and business lines, with teams working end to end, from solution design to implementation.

Over time, the hub has consolidated critical capabilities in areas such as data engineering, advanced analytics, cybersecurity, and cloud platforms. These capabilities allow us to address increasingly complex technological needs and ensure scalable, secure platforms aligned with the evolution of the business.

The scope of the work carried out from Barcelona reflects the role these types of centers are taking on within global organizations like ours. From here, we operate critical platforms with direct impact on the company’s daily activity, with a level of responsibility that goes beyond purely operational functions.

How has the hub evolved in terms of employment, investment, and digital capabilities in recent years? Do you plan further investment and job creation at the Barcelona tech hub?

Since its launch in 2021, the Barcelona Digital Hub has experienced significant growth. It started with a team of around 130 people and now exceeds 650 digital professionals, reflecting not only job creation but also the consolidation of the hub as a reference center within the organization.

This growth has been accompanied by a progressive expansion of technological capabilities. Over the years, we have strengthened key areas such as data, cloud environments, and cybersecurity, taking on increasingly complex projects with greater global impact.

Looking ahead, we expect to continue growing steadily in areas critical to the company’s digital transformation, such as data, digital architecture, and cybersecurity. This growth will be linked to the incorporation of increasingly specialized profiles capable of delivering value in highly demanding global environments, in a context where competition for talent remains very high.

How is the type of talent you are looking for evolving, and what skills are essential today?

The profiles we seek have evolved in line with the increasing complexity of the projects developed at the hub. At Schneider Electric, we follow a clearly skills-based approach: beyond specific technical knowledge, we focus on the capabilities that enable people to generate impact in complex and changing environments.

We continue to require a strong technical foundation in areas such as data, cloud, and cybersecurity, but we increasingly value a transversal mindset. It is essential to have professionals who understand the context in which solutions are applied, who can work across multiple technologies, and who collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams distributed globally.

Alongside technical skills, certain capabilities are becoming increasingly important. Continuous learning, analytical thinking, autonomy in decision-making, and adaptability to change are essential for working on critical platforms with direct business impact.

In this sense, Barcelona offers a particularly suitable environment for this type of talent. The combination of a strong digital ecosystem, diverse profiles, and international attractiveness enables continued growth with professionals who not only master technology but know how to apply it with judgement and impact.

Barcelona is consolidating its position as one of Europe’s leading destinations for technology hubs. In your experience, what elements are key to ensuring this growth is sustainable in the long term?

The growth Barcelona has experienced in recent years now presents a different challenge. Beyond attracting activity, the key will be consolidating a sustainable model based on education, retention of specialized talent, and the ability to offer meaningful projects with long-term prospects.

From our perspective, it is no longer only about attracting new professionals, but about building work environments where people want to stay and develop. Stability, the nature of the projects, the opportunity to take on real responsibility, and continuous learning are increasingly decisive factors.

In the case of the Barcelona Digital Hub, recent years have shown that this is achievable. The combination of global-scale projects with a stable team base is reflected in a voluntary attrition rate below 5%, well below the digital sector average. For us, this is not only a retention metric, but a sign of maturity and long-term sustainability.

Do you collaborate with local universities, startups, or research centers in Catalonia? In which areas?

Collaboration with the ecosystem is essential for us. Innovation in areas such as energy and digitalization does not happen in isolation, but through connections with universities, technology centers, and other stakeholders.

We actively participate in initiatives within Barcelona’s digital ecosystem, such as the Digital Alliance Partnership, and collaborate with academic institutions, for example, with the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, in areas related to technology, digitalization, and energy management. These collaborations translate into applied training, joint projects, and talent development.

Our objective is practical: to connect capabilities, anticipate the skills we will need in the future, and contribute to a strong ecosystem capable of developing solutions with real impact.

How do you assess the role of organizations such as Catalonia Trade & Investment in strengthening Barcelona’s international positioning and supporting the local ecosystem?

Organizations such as Catalonia Trade & Investment play an important role in facilitating connections between companies, talent, and the ecosystem. From our experience, this support is particularly valuable during growth phases, when rapid integration into the local environment and understanding of the technological ecosystem are critical.

This type of support helps generate connections between companies, institutions, and key stakeholders, which is essential in an increasingly competitive international context.

For technology hubs like ours, having a well-connected ecosystem and stakeholders that facilitate this coordination is a key factor for sustainable growth and real impact.