A new signing from our own ranks
Miguel Muñoz joins La Línea Vertical España with an unusual background: he helped build the group’s Chilean division from the ground up. He now returns to Spain to take up the role of Head of Purchasing at LLV, bringing with him the experience of having established his own business venture on the other side of the Atlantic.
How G8 and LLV ended up being the same story
The merger between the two companies wasn’t the result of a meticulously planned strategy, but neither was it a coincidence. “We partners had the drive and the vision for steady growth, but we knew that if we wanted exponential growth, we’d need a boost and a benchmark”, explains Miguel. “La Línea Vertical had the maturity and the drive to expand its geographical reach, so it only took a couple of small coincidences for our paths to cross”. From that time in Chile, Miguel highlights two lessons above all others: the richness of immersing oneself in a different culture, stepping outside one’s comfort zone, and the satisfaction of seeing a business idea take shape. “Developing an idea, putting it into practice and watching it grow is really exciting”, he says.
The return: family first, then work
Returning to Spain wasn’t driven by a career opportunity, but by a decision made as a family. “The main reason was to raise our son in Spain, close to the rest of my family, whom I’ve seen very little of in recent years,” he admits frankly. Joining LLV came later, almost as if it were inevitable. “What was the plan after arriving? None; we had to make one up as we went along. The opportunity to join LLV came later, although deep down I always knew it would happen.”
The challenge of learning all over again
For Miguel, taking on the role of Head of Purchasing represents a change of role that is as stimulating as it is demanding: moving from having founded the whole company to having to build up expertise from within. “As the founder of G8, I was involved in every process and every decision. Now I have to pick up that knowledge bit by bit, and in a company with such a long history and track record of success as La Línea Vertical, that takes time.” For the time being, his focus will be on implementing the new ERP system the company has rolled out. “Much of my energy will go into getting that system up and running”, he concludes.