Cristina Garmendia
Cristina Garmendia Mendizábal is a Spanish biologist and entrepreneur. With no previous political militancy, she was appointed Minister of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain in April 2008, a position she held throughout the IX Legislature, under the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Since 2015 she has chaired the Cotec Foundation for Innovation.
With a PhD in Biology from the Autonomous University of Madrid, before she was elected minister she was president of the Inbiomed Foundation and the Spanish Association of Bio companies. In 2000 she founded Genetrix, a company in the biotechnology sector, and in 2008 the venture capital company YSIOS specialized in health and biotechnology. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE). After leaving the Government, Cristina Garmendia resumed her business career as a partner of YSIOS and shareholder of Genetrix and has also been a member of private and public advisory boards, including the Government of Colombia. She is also currently a member of the advisory board of Mediaset España.
