# Felipe Cortina

> Felipe Cortina is the co-founder and co-CEO of Jimmy Lion, the colorful sock brand he launched in New York in 2014 with fellow ex-banker Alvaro Gomis. A Madrid native who traded an investment-banking career for an NYU Stern MBA and then for a single product nobody else seemed to take seriously, Cortina turned the most forgettable item in a wardrobe into a design object sold in more than 30 countries and on the shelves of El Corte Ingles, Galeries Lafayette and El Palacio de Hierro. He also chairs his family's Vallegarcia winery in Toledo.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Jimmy Lion
- **Organizations:** Jimmy Lion, Vallegarcia winery
- **From:** Madrid, Spain
- **Nationality:** Spanish
- **Education:** Business Administration and Management, CUNEF (Colegio Universitario de Estudios Financieros), Madrid, MBA, NYU Stern School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded and scaled Jimmy Lion into a sock brand distributed in more than 30 countries, Secured retail placement in El Corte Ingles (80+ locations), Galeries Lafayette and El Palacio de Hierro, Grew JLion Clothing revenue past 3.5 million euros by 2019

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Meets Alvaro Gomis while both work at an investment bank in Madrid
- **2012** — Completes MBA at NYU Stern; spots colorful-sock opportunity during a New York shopping trip
- **2014** — Co-founds Jimmy Lion and launches the first collection - 8,000 pairs made in Portugal, shipped from a New York apartment
- **2020** — Jimmy Lion raises capital injections (415,000 euros in February, 1.25 million euros in August)
- **2021** — Opens 2,000 sq m logistics hub in San Fernando de Henares, Madrid; becomes president of family-owned Vallegarcia winery and joins board of footwear startup Muroexe

## Achievements

- Co-founded and scaled Jimmy Lion into a sock brand distributed in more than 30 countries
- Secured retail placement in El Corte Ingles (80+ locations), Galeries Lafayette and El Palacio de Hierro
- Grew JLion Clothing revenue past 3.5 million euros by 2019
- Built a multi-office operation spanning New York, Madrid and Mexico

## Latest updates

- **2024-11** — Jimmy Lion logged a seed-stage funding event (reported total funding around 110,000 USD per Apollo data).

## Links

- Website: https://jimmylion.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/felipe-cortina-68a6a264
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jimmylionnyc
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/jimmylionnyc

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/felipe-cortina
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24