Gonzalo Manrique is the co-founder and co-CEO of Ironhack, the leading tech bootcamp outside of the USA. With over 11000 grads, 9 campuses and over 125 employees, Ironhack’s ambition is to close the tech skill gap in Europe and Latam through immersive in demand courses.
Gonzalo was born and raised in Spain. He majored in Civil Engineering as an undergraduate at Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio, before working his way up at Sacyr, a global construction and infrastructure company headquartered in Madrid. He went on to study and MBA at Wharton, where he simultaneously obtained his Masters in International Studies from UPenn’s Lauder Institute.
Gonzalo met Ariel, Ironhack’s co-founder and co-CEO, during their MBA years at Wharton. Upon meeting they discovered a shared desire to stray from the corporate world and create an impact on the world’s failing education system.
After graduation, Gonzalo and Ariel began with market research. They spoke to Europe-based employers, recent graduates, and tech thought leaders to better understand the mismatch between job market requirements and existing educational curriculums. They found 700K job vacancies in Europe’s IT field, yet an unparalleled youth unemployment rate. The tech sector was struggling to fill openings, while recent graduates were struggling to find jobs. Determined to fill this gap, they hired an expert software engineer to help develop a blueprint web development curriculum. In 2013 they launched their first official Ironhack course (9-weeks) with a class of 12 students, and the inaugural program’s success gave way to rapid expansion.
