“San Telmo” Foundation is an independent non-profit Institution. In September 1982, the Foundation created an International Centre of Formation and Improvement for Top Management of Companies and Public or Private Institutions: The International Institute "San Telmo", that have counted with the academic support of many International Institutions, specially The Institute of Company High Studies (IESE).

With permanent headquarters in Malaga and Seville and due to it developing its activities throughout the south of Spain, the main priority of the International Institute “San Telmo”, is to serve the community to which it is geographically closest: its ultimate aim is the economic and business development of Southern Spain, through training and professional development of businessmen and women. However, the Institute has always has a distinct international vocation, particularly oriented towards Latin American and North African countries. Currently, the Institute is already developing some activities both in Tangiers and in other parts of Southern Spain to where it travels occasionally.

All of the Institute’s programmes are designed with the idea of covering all training segments in the business field, that is, from the professional development of people with extensive experience who already have directorship positions, to the training of young people with experience, many of which will have positions of high responsibility in the future. Since 1982, the year when the first Top Management programme was carried out, more than five thousand executives and directors of private and public companies and institutions have undertaken a training or professional development programme at San Telmo.

The International Institute “San Telmo” has its own teaching staff, whose principal activities are teaching, research and providing consulting services to companies and institutions. This teaching staff base is complemented by the incorporation of visiting teachers from several Business Schools, with special collaboration from the IESE of Barcelona and other centres such as IPADE of Mexico, IAE of Argentina, MIT and Harvard Business School of the USA or INSEAD of France.

In July 1990, the Institute became a full member of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), an Institution with representatives from the leading Business Schools of Europe. In October 1992 it became a member of the Consejo Latinoamericano de Escuelas de Administración de Empresas (Latin American Council of Management Schools) (CLADEA). Furthermore, since April 2000 it has been a member of the Asociación Española de Escuelas de Dirección de Empresas (Spanish Association of Business Schools) (AEEDE).