Eduardo de Santis, founder of Gold Mercury International was born in Positano (Italy) in 1929. He passed away on March 25 in Madrid. Entrepreneur and visionary, he was a creator of global iconic brands and a champion of governance and sustainable globalization.

He began his film career in the fifties, first as an actor in more than 20 films and then as a screenwriter and producer, a bridge between Europe and America with great co-productions. During the shooting of Las aeroguapas he met the Spanish actress María Cuadra, with whom he married and had three children, Natasha, Nicolas and Antonella.

His remarkable business career in the sector of corporate identity and brand development began in the seventies with the help of his partner Walter Landor, founder of Landor Associates. Together, they developed the most iconic brands in the world in various sectors and fields.

A, visionary, he always anticipated trends and, in that spirit, in the nineties he set up his company and developed, together with his son and partner Nicolas, the concept of Corporate Vision. “A brand and company without strategic vision will not get far,” he said.

His footprint in the world of brand creation and corporate vision has been historic. He worked with the creative genius Joan Miró in the creation of the brand of the star of La Caixa savings bank, created those of Iberia, Campsa, Argentaria, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Coca Cola, Banamex and developed corporate visions that continue today, such as Cepsa, Santander, Iberdrola, Campofrío, Puleva, Prisa, CEU, Alitalia, Santillana, Scottish Power and many more.

His contribution to sustainable globalization, peace and cooperation was very important. In Rome in the sixties, with the help of Italian President Giuseppe Saragat, he created the Gold Mercury International think tank, focused on improving peace, cooperation among peoples, global governance and corporate responsibility. As chairman of Gold Mercury until his death, he worked with personalities such as US Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, Soviet leader Leonidas Breznev, King Juan Carlos, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez or Kerry Kennedy , daughter of Bob Kennedy. In the business world he collaborated with Emilio Botín, Akio Morita or Gianni Agnelli.

Eduardo de Santis was ‘Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana’ and was decorated several times by his country. In 2013 he received the ‘Order of the Italian Star’ from the hands of President Giorgio Napolitano, the oldest national honor in Italy, established by the newly born republic in 1947.

With his death we also lose a great European. Eduardo de Santis believed blindly in a united Europe and worked with me to promote his identity and launch the euro when I was president of the International European Movement and the European Parliament. But most important, he was a humanist who believed in the kindness of people. He was a good man through and through.

This ‘In Memoriam’ was published in the Spanish global newspaper EL PAIS. Link to article in Spanish.