Jaume Lanaspa holds a degree in Economics from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and completed the PDE programme at the IESE Business School, also in Barcelona. He has lectured at the University of Barcelona and ESADE.

He began his professional career in the banking sector, holding various positions at Banco Atlántico in Barcelona and Madrid between 1967 and 1977, including credit analyst, deputy branch manager, deputy risk manager and treasury director. Between 1978 and 1981, he served as regional director, financial director and deputy managing director at Bankunión.

His other roles include finance director and board member at Covimet and Coviares, motorway concession companies in Buenos Aires, Argentina (1981–1984); regional director at Banco Urquijo – Unió in Barcelona (1984–1988); managing director and board member at CaixaBank France (1988–1995); and subsequently, managing director of ACESA (Autopistas Concesionaria Española, S.A.) and AUCAT (Autopistas de Catalunya, S.A.).

He served as an executive director of the Obra Social ”la Caixa” and as director general of the ”la Caixa” Banking Foundation from 2008 to 2014. He had previously held several positions at ”la Caixa”, including: Human Resources Director; Executive Director of Human Resources and Internal Communication; and Executive Director of Personnel and Corporate Reputation.

He is currently president of the Fundació de l’Esperança, the Barcelona Office of the Club of Rome, UNICEF Catalonia and the Spanish Network of Intercultural Cities (RECI).