Telefónica president to step down


Details

Juan Fernandez Gonzalez

| 30 March 2016




César Alierta, who has been head of Telefónica for nearly 16 years, is stepping down from his position of president.



cesar aliertaIn a meeting schedule for 8 April, the telco's administration board will consider the appointment of José María Álvarez-Pallete as his replacement, as he has been cited by Alierta as “being better prepared to face the challenges of the digital market”.

According to the company, Alierta stay on the administration board and will focus on Telefónica's digital education projects as well the Telefónica Foundation.

The telco has radically changed during Alierta's presidency, during which time he was in charge of driving a former public telco into an international private company. He assumed the presidency in 2000, four years after the company was privatised.

During recent years, Telefónica has modified its worldwide strategy from being a traditional telco to becoming a video-focused company and recently an ‘on-life’ telco, looking to offer a wide range of digital services.

Although growth in Latin America has not been as rapid as the telco expected, Telefónica has managed to build up a solid position in specific markets such as Brazil and Peru. And during the last two years it has carried out an aggressive pay-TV and convergent strategy in Spain, which has placed the telco as the market's largest operator.

Since 2012, Álvarez-Pallete has been Alierta's right-hand man in the company. He has worked in the financial department since joining the company in 1999, and has also managed Telefónica's international division and Telefónica Latin America.