César Alierta Leaves Telefónica and Proposes the Appointment of José María Álvarez-Pallete

Telefónica’s Board of Directors will analyse the appointment of José María Álvarez-Pallete as the new Executive Chairman of the Company in its next meeting to be held on the 8th of April. The proposal has been made by the current Chief Executive, César  Alierta, who considers Álvarez-Pallete as the best prepared executive to face the challenges arising from the digital revolution.

Alierta will remain in the Board of Directors of Telefónica, a position he holds since 4 years previous to his appointment as Executive Chairman, and will also put his focus on issues for social progress, such as Digital Education, and on the Executive Chairmanship of Fundación Telefónica. Under Alierta´s tenure, Telefónica has moved from being a relevant player in the telecommunication sector in Spain and Latin America to becoming leader in its key strategic markets: Brazil, Germany, Spain and Latin America.

Alierta has placed Telefónica at the forefront of telecommunications globally. Under his management the company stepped ahead of rivals and set the trend with strategic decision making such as the amortization of the UMTS licenses or the creation of Telefónica Digital.

Over 3 years ago, in 2012, César Alierta designated José María Álvarez-Pallete as Chief Operating Officer, thus starting a process which will conclude on the 8th of April with Álvarez-Pallete appointment as the new Executive Chairman.

José María Álvarez-Pallete, was born in Madrid in 1963 and holds a degree in Economics from Complutense University of Madrid and from the Université Libre in Belgium. He completed the International Management Programme (IMP) at the IPADE and holds a diploma in Advanced Studies at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Álvarez-Pallete joined the Telefónica Group in February 1999 as CFO of Telefónica Internacional after having worked in CEMEX. Months later, he assumed the responsibility of the corporate finances as Telefónica’s CFO. With the arrival of Alierta to the presidency in 2000, Álvarez-Pallete remained CFO until 2002 when he was appointed Executive Chairman of Telefónica Internacional.

After that he became Chairman of Telefónica Latinoamérica, a position he occupied until he was appointed Executive Chairman of Telefónica Europe in 2011. One year later he became Chief Operating Officer of Telefónica S.A. Álvarez-Pallete sits in the Board of Telefónica S.A. since July 2006.

With his credentials and experience managing the day to day of all Operations from his position as COO of the Company, Alierta considers Álvarez-Pallete as the best prepared executive to make a smooth transition and position Telefónica once again at the forefront, but this time, at the forefront of the digital sector.