This story first appeared in a special CineEurope 2016 issue of BoxOffice magazine. To subscribe to the magazine click here.

Name: Fernando Evole
Company: Cinépolis Spain, Yelmo Cinemas
Title: Country Manager
Country: Spain

Fernando Evole says that he was born and raised in a movie theatre. “I remember watching movies again and again and coming into the booth to see through the projectionists window.” As CEO of Yelmo cinema for the past 12 years he has helped to grow this family business (he cites his father Ricardo Evole as his most important mentor), including merging it into the growing global footprint of Cinépolis in 2014.

“Making sure my team is aligned, giving them correct guidance, the tools and the advice to make every ones work easier and happier while we achieve our goals and excel on our relationship with our customers,” is how he describes his day job. But he’s also found time to be Vice President of FECE Federacion de Empresas de Cine de España for last decade.

In terms of where he sees the industry, he observes that “until a few years ago we opened the theaters and customers just showed up and we took care of them. Now its all about the relationship with them and how to generate a completely unique experience every time they choose us.” Today, “everything that has to do with improving the relationship with our customers. I believe there is great room for improvement in this area.”

Fernando will be at CineEurope and can’t see himself in any other business than cinema. “I am very fortunate to work in an industry I am passionate for. I love movies, I love going to the movies and I love moving and touching people with great stories.”