The businesswoman Ana Belén Juaristi, a former student of ISSA University of Navarra and manager of Engranajes Juaristi, has been awarded with the award Empresaria de Gipuzkoa 2016, granted by the association de Profesionales, Empresarias y Directivas de Gipuzkoa (ASPEGI).

The award aims to "recognize the work of women in the economic sphere, make visible the labor reality of this group in Gipuzkoa and promote greater equality," Aspegi has indicated in a statement.

Ana Belén Juaristi experienced "joy and pride" when she was announced the award, which is submission for the first time in two categories: best businesswoman and best manager, which has received Arantza Muriana. "That you do your work with desire and you are awarded is double the award -recognizes Ana Belén Juaristi-. I am happy and I will continue trying to make my work better and better".

The businesswoman says that ISSA gave her "the knowledge she needed to take the reins of the family business and deepen in the management of people and finances, necessary for a good management of the business". She describes her years at the University as "exciting", as they provided her with knowledge and tools that, according to her, have been especially useful for her in her working life.

Ana Belén Juaristi started working at Engranajes Juaristi in 1983 and in 2008 she was appointed vice-president of the employers' associations Adegi and Confebask, position which she held until last May. When she recalls her beginnings in the family business , she explains that she started learning everything related to gear manufacturing: "If you don't understand what you have in your hands, you don't feel the passion you have to feel to develop the product and present it to the market".

"The management of a business requires you to look at all the angles that make it up, measure risk, weigh and take risks," says the award winner, who stresses the importance of "maintaining a direct attention with the entire staff" and "not losing sight of what is happening in the market: new demands, new projects and changes in consumer trends".