Alonso Aznar: "I like politics, but my focus is on the company. There have already been enough politicians in my family"

It is noted that the youngest son of José María Aznar is methodical as his father. Alonso Aznar is the CEO of the subsidiary of Iberia and Mexico in the American artificial intelligence company Afiniti and has prepared thoroughly what is his first interview with a general information medium. He has worked answers for uncomfortable questions about whether he is a father's son who has been given the life made, if he offers his products to public companies or about the controversial tax office of the multinational for which he works.

He is proud of his family and defends the economic policy of lowering taxes subscribed by his parents, but also calls for a new social pact and combat the inequality of the fourth industrial revolution not far from the rhetoric of Pedro Sánchez.

Alonso Aznar Botella was born in Valladolid in 1988 when his father presided over the Junta de Castilla y León and lived the shocks of politics already from the pacifier. José María Aznar had to resign to move to Madrid and lead the refounded then PP.

-Do you consider entering politics?

-I like and follow very closely both national and international politics, but right now my only focus is the company I work for, Afiniti, and within my position I try to help my country in whatever way I can. I have a vocation to serve my country and from my field I will try to contribute ideas or help that I can, but there have already been enough politicians in my family.

-Milita in the Popular Party?

-No militia in any political party.

-You are CEO of Afiniti in the Iberian market and Mexico with just 31 years. Is the typical label of a father's son who has been given life made right in his case?

-I don't see it right in my case. My parents have instilled in me very strong principles of effort and to try excellence within humility and from there I have worked. I went to London because I thought it was what I should do to, if you want to see it like that, compete on equal terms. I wanted to seek anonymity and grow professionally. I have been working for almost nine years and have worked in different countries and in different sectors. Things have gone well. I run a very large operation and people don't give you anything, nor let you carry out large operations for being a child of who you are. I am demonstrating more than that.

Artificial intelligence

Alonso Aznar did not study Political Science. He graduated in Business Administration from Cunef University College and worked in London in the financial sector, both in Citigroup and in Rhône Capital, until he met the 48-year-old American inventor and financial visionary Zia Christie, founder of Afiniti. «I liked your project, it seemed different. You have to demystify artificial intelligence because, for example, a smartphone is equivalent to a hamster's brain, but it is a revolution that will change the world.

-What does Afiniti do?

-We look for behavior patterns in data sources . We use them to predict people's behavior and analyze how they interact with each other. We use these predictions to help large companies optimize the allocation of employees and resources in relation to their customers. They can be a call center, chat, assign sales force, distribute employees in a store or send health personnel to high-risk people who need it so that, by the way, health companies reduce costs and, at the same time, help Save lives and improve diagnoses. We seek through these patterns to increase both revenues and reduce costs by 4% or more in these large companies. In the end, companies with which we work artificial intelligence apply the technology while maintaining the same fixed cost structure, so returns are very attractive . Ten million cash flow per year or more than 1,000 million in large companies.

prejudices with your last name

At the end of 2015 he joined this company. «It was before my father, who is a member of the board of directors of Afiniti. He is logically dedicated to strategic and internal issues and we obviously share the desire that the company is doing well, but it has no special task on the Spanish market ». The founder of Afiniti has incorporated personalities such as former US Treasury Secretary John Snow or José María Aznar himself into the council. His last name weighs and Alonso excludes the Administration from the Afiniti clientele. "I prefer to avoid public companies," he says, but is proud of its origin. «Obviously there are times and it is normal for people to have prejudices about family or family name but I wear it naturally and sportively. Sometimes it can get tired but I don't like victimhood. I am privileged to have the family I have. We are very close and the rest is secondary ».

Spain lagging behind

He cannot reveal his clients in Spain, he says, but says that, in general, Afiniti operates in 18 countries and works with telecommunications companies, banks, insurers, tourism, health and electricity. "We have around one thousand employees and the last round of financing we collect $ 2 billion."

- Is it easy to convince the matrix to bet more on Spain with this political instability?

-In Spain we are not aware of what is coming up with the technological revolution and we have the obligation to respond to the challenge. It is a country that is in a very good position in infrastructure and we have more fiber penetration than all the great European countries together, so we should lead debates on artificial intelligence, digital taxation, new forms of education, labor market, but not is happening It is impossible that we face the challenge as a country if we do not agree on the basics. Four elections in four years is not serious and until we solve this problem and the territorial one in Catalonia we will not be able to face this revolution. We are so focused on electoral short-termism that it is impossible for us to move forward.

the inequality

This young executive stresses that «it is estimated that the technological revolution will generate 15.7 billion dollars in world GDP until 2030. It is ten times more than the Spanish GDP». «We are going to see concentration of wealth in few hands and increase of inequality, to raise unemployment in some sectors and employment in others».

-Many people will stay on the road

- The key is training. It is clear that there will be a generation of people who will stay on the road and we must make an effort both public and private, of the companies that lead this revolution, to invest in education and reduce inequality by generating employment.

PRIVACY AND TAX PLACE

The question is how to protect the privacy of sensitive data for people. «We use databases that have been authorized and comply with the law. Privacy is very rigorous in the processing of data. Any mistake would be the end of our company. Before the EU regulations entered into force, we already met all the requirements ». He also emphasizes that Afiniti's business model is that it only charges if there is success. «If we do not generate profitability we are not paid. And if we generate, we ask the customer for a part of their return. We do not have fixed commissions or invoice for hours ».

Another controversial point in Afiniti is that the headquarters of the parent company is in the Bermuda Islands, a tax haven. Alonso Aznar does not give his personal opinion and refers to this official explanation of the multinational: «Afiniti is a global company with headquarters in Washington DC and an important presence in countries around the world. From a business point of view, the headquarters in Bermuda has allowed Afiniti to evolve as a startup and grow, because to operate particularly in China it makes sense not to be domiciled in the US. However, he points out that the company can change its headquarters now that it is consolidating. The subsidiary in Spain complies with the regulations, assures, and if it does not pay Corporate Tax it is still for tax credits generated by the initial losses. In any case, it supports updating the taxation for the digital age but «it is necessary to regulate jointly. It will not help that Spain or France go on their own ».

According to the criteria of The Trust Project