The executive president of Telefónica, José María Álvarez-Pallete, was re-elected until December 2026 at the helm of the presidency of the GSMA, the association which brings together the largest telecommunications groups and associated industries in the global connectivity ecosystem.
He accepted this position in February 2022, becoming the first executive of a Spanish company to assume the presidency in the history of the GSMA. This is what Telefónica declared in a press release in which it explains that its re-election represents a “support for his work at the head of this organization, at a critical moment for the sector”, which has been recognized as a cornerstone to guarantee the progress and competitiveness of Europe, as approved by the “Dragh Report” on the European Union.
During a period of almost three years As GSMA President, José María Álvarez-Pallete promoted the launch of Open Gateway, which represents a paradigm shift in how the telecommunications industry designs and markets its services in the new API-driven digital world , and promoted ethics and responsible use of technology, particularly AI, which resulted in the industry’s first common roadmap.
Álvarez-Pallete stressed that “it is an honor to have been re-elected president and I am deeply excited facing the new stage that is opening. » Furthermore, he highlighted “the work of the GSMA team to bridge the digital divide, a crucial aspect if we truly want to bring the socio-economic benefits of digitalization to the most vulnerable. Always moving forward with the objective of ensuring that the technological revolution is put to the service of people, businesses and society as a whole, leaving no one behind.”
The GSMA encompasses more than 1,100 mobile operators and businesses across the ecosystem and related sectors to drive innovation and reduce global inequality.
In 2023, mobile technology and services generated $5.7 trillion in value added, or 5.4% of global gross domestic product (GDP), and employed nearly 35 million people, directly and indirectly.
By the end of 2023, more than 5.6 billion people were subscribers to mobile services, which represents 69% of the world’s population and an increase of 1.6 billion people since 2015.
