2 days Ago By Carlota Serra
The big signing of the week is once again for the banking sector, with , making her the first woman to hold this position. However, the week has been busy in terms of executive recruitment, primarily in the banking sector, but also with significant moves at Atresmedia, the GSMA, VidaCaixa, and Telefónica. These are the week's highlights: Atresmedia will appoint Estefanía Knuth as a new independent director.
Atresmedia will propose to its general meeting the appointments of Almudena Martorell, current executive president of the A LA PAR Foundation, and former professional golfer Estefanía Knuth, the last partner of Mango founder Isak Andic, who died last December. Andic was a close friend of José Creuheras, president of the Planeta Group and the Atresmedia corporation, and was appointed executor of the businessman's fortune. Former board member Natàlia Mas joins the family-run electricity company.
Economist Natàlia Mas Guix, who served as Minister of Economy and Finance from 2022 to 2024, has announced that she will become CEO of the energy company Inspira Energía, part of the Respira Energía group, which she co-owns with her husband, Joan Giralt. Mas has also been an independent director of La Farga since January of this year. Before becoming a director, she headed the Directorate General for Industry in the Department of Business and Employment, among other positions in the government.
She also worked at the European Central Bank (ECB) between 2004 and 2015, first as an economist in the Directorates General for Economics and Statistics, and as an expert in financial stability. The GSMA already has a replacement for Pallete. The GSMA board of directors has chosen Gopal Vittal as president for the remainder of the term of the employers' association.
until the end of 2026. Vittal has been a member of the GSMA Board of Directors for eight years, serving as Vice President since 2023, and most recently as Interim President since 2025. In this way, the GSMA renews its presidency permanently, after its previous president, José María Álvarez upon being replaced as president of Telefónica by Marc Murtra.
Gonzalo Gortázar replaces Gual as president of VidaCaixa Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of CaixaBank, has been appointed non-executive chairman of VidaCaixa, an insurance company owned by the bank. The decision was made by the financial institution's executive committee. Gortázar will continue as CaixaBank's chief executive and replaces Jordi Gual at VidaCaixa due to the expiration of his term.
Gual, who will remain associated with the La Caixa Group as a director of Telefónica in Brazil and Spain, will join the board of the consulting firm Oxera Consulting LLP, which specializes in competition and regulatory issues, as of May 1. Caixa Capital Risc appoints Jordi Ros as its new CEO Caixa Capital Risc begins a new era with the appointment of Jordi Ros as CEO. Ros joins the position after nearly 20 years with the group dedicated to industrial holdings management, financial analysis, and company monitoring.
He recently held key positions in CriteriaCaixa's diversification portfolio and has served on the board of directors of Aigües de Barcelona, Empresa Metropolitana de Gestión del Ciclo Integral del Agua, SA, since 2014. Santander appoints Juan Ignacio Prat from CaixaBank Santander has appointed Juan Ignacio Prat, from CaixaBank, as Director of Business Model Transformation for its private banking division. In a post on LinkedIn, Prat announced that he is leaving his position as Regional Director of Private Banking at CaixaBank, where he has developed his career for the past 13 years, to join Santander's private banking business.
For the past ten years, Prat has been responsible for managing CaixaBank's private banking centers in Catalonia, as well as the development of the business in Catalonia. Between January 2012 and February 2015, Prat served as Director of CaixaBank's Barcelona Private Banking Center, and from 2009 to 2011, he was Director of La Caixa's Private Banking Center in Girona..
