SIRIS Academic switched from being owned by private individuals to being fully owned by a not-for-profit foundation, the SIRIS Foundation.
SIRIS Academic was created in 2010 as a privately-owned company under Spanish law. The form of the "for-profit" company was required to offer consulting services. However, as stated in the statutes of the company, in the case of SIRIS Academic, economic profit is a means and not an end: the end is to contribute to what we see, to the best of our knowledge, as sound public policy for Higher Education, Research and Innovation. In the same line, we adhere to a salary policy which emphasises collective contribution and respects a limited salary span between the lowest and highest salary.
Now that the company has grown to almost 50 people, it was important for the founders to ensure that this vision and work culture continues to prosper. In very practical terms, in a context where the company had acquired a value, we needed to ensure that this value would be clearly directed to a collective purpose rather than a private one.
Therefore, inspired by established models such as "steward-owned companies", the founders decided to donate all their shares to a foundation created for this purpose, the SIRIS Foundation. As a result, the company SIRIS Academic is now owned 100% by a not-for-profit entity, which is in charge of preserving the vision.
The SIRIS Foundation will spend the benefits generated by the company (SIRIS Academic) on public-benefit causes aligned with its mission:
Making this shift is our way to promote a different vision of the workplace, where purpose is the main driver.