BANKER
His team
The Presidential Office of Popular was much like Luis Valls himself and the bank: different, dynamic, austere, and efficient. Besides managing the daily tasks of their boss (his schedule and commitments, his correspondence, etc.), one of their most important missions was to assist in keeping him fully updated on the reclamations and demands of customers, shareholders, and employees. Valls liked to put people at the center and he ensured this happened His team helped him gather all the information about possible complaints or people’s needs. They allowed nothing to be overlooked.
The Press Archive
Another notable feature of the President’s office was that every morning, they received the press clippings that Luis Valls had made after reading seven newspapers before breakfast. They reviewed everything, dated it, and filed it in dossiers by topic, which Luis Valls would later consult for various purposes: before writing, before meeting someone, etc.
The topics could vary greatly, and were not necessarily related to the bank. Everything that was published and that interested Luis Valls, who loved to keep informed about everything, ended up in the Presidential archive.
No “plumbers”
Despite having a good team, there were tasks Luis Valls liked to do personally. For example, he refused to have topics summarized for him; he preferred to study the documentation himself to understand the matters in hand. Moreover, he avoided the “plumber” system typical of very busy VIPs (a team of specialists who advised in the background). He said he had the executives, the true experts, to do that.
Everything Up to Date
Once again, because of his obsession with putting people at the center, there was something that gave Luis Valls great annoyance: the possibility of congratulation or invitations being sent to someone because of their position when they had already left it. Therefore, a large part of the Bank’s Secretariat function was to constantly update the files of official, institutional, and private positions and all those who had direct contact with the presidency. In summary, the Presidential Secretariat was like an extension of the president’s arm. In one of the Bank’s reports, as Jaime Díaz Yáñez recalls in his thesis 1, it was stated that the members of the Presidential Secretariat “faithfully embody the characteristics of their position. They are neat, meticulous, orderly, punctual, pernickety, discreet, submissive, proud, open and secretive, helpful and sharp: they are professionals.” The Bank recognized, therefore, that this peculiar office might seem atypical, “but it was very practical.” Typical of Luis Valls.
Bibliography
Thesis “Luis Valls. Banco Popular. Un repertorio”, by Jaime Díez Yáñez.
