Catalans Abroad

Born in Olot and now resident in California, Anna N. Schlegel is the vice president of data storage company NetApp and was named one of the most influential women in technology in 2020 by Analytics Insight magazine

Why did you leave Catalonia?I left Catalonia not knowing that I would stay in the States for more than a year or two. In that sense, I was not leaving Catalonia. I did not know I was. It was an adventure...

Why did you leave Catalonia?I’ve left Catalonia three times in the past 12 years, all of them career related. The first was to study abroad, the second because I found better opportunities and conditions...

Why did you leave Catalonia?It was during Franco’s dictatorship. Because of my personal ambitions – all related to Catalan culture – the difficulties imposed by the regime were becoming increasingly...

Why did you leave Catalonia?I left for Germany in October, 1999. It was a personal decision, to make a new life for my family, my three daughters and my German partner. Although I’m a doctor by vocation,...

Why did you leave Catalonia?It was early September 2013 when I set foot in the city that never sleeps - or never used to. The financial crisis was still kicking in Barcelona. I was reluctant to leave...

Why did you leave Catalonia?It was 1995, three years after the Olympics in Barcelona. As a young architect I had a lot of ideas and was looking forward to working on interesting projects. However, the...

Why did you leave Catalonia?I got the opportunity to work in El Salvador on some projects of geological hazard and risk with an NGO, in 1999. I always had a big desire to travel to other places and to...

Why did you leave Catalonia?My main reason for leaving Catalonia was the challenge posed by the language. With my diplomatic studies finished, I didn’t feel like an expert in the German language; I needed...