The Mobile World Capital Foundation creates an advisory council and analyzes the project’s progress
The Board of the Mobile World Capital Foundation, chaired by the Mayor of business, Xavier Trias, has met today to assess the progress of the various MWC initiatives and lock down the participation of new partners in the project. The list of agreed measures includes the decision to create an international advisory council and the appointment, by the member institutions, of new additions to the Board, in accordance with the agreement made in March to have two to three representatives from each body.
Those attending the meeting assessed the good progress of the numerous technical, organisational and business initiatives that are being carried out to make Barcelona the global flagship of mobile communications. The meeting also served to announce the appointments made by the Executive Commission, which is headed by the Executive VPs, Agustín Cordón and John Hoffman, to complete the management team of the Mobile World Capital, whose CEO is Ginés Alarcón.
The Board has approved the budget for 2012 and decided to create an international advisory council, formed by prestigious professionals, especially from the mobile technologies and solutions sector. This body, which will have a maximum of 20 unpaid members, will guide the Board and Executive Commission in their functions.
New members have also joined the Board. The third Deputy Mayor, Antoni Vives, joins Xavier Trias and the second Deputy Mayor and secretary of the Foundation, Sònia Recasens, to complete Barcelona City Council’s representation. The new post assigned to the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism goes to Antonio Rodríguez Raposo, CEO of Telecommunications and Information Technologies, who joins the State Secretary for Telecommunications and the Information Society, and Deputy Chairman of the Foundation, Víctor Calvo-Sotelo, and the CEO of Red.es, Borja Adsuara.
The Generalitat, represented by the conseller de Empresa i Ocupació, and deputy chairman of the Foundation, Francesc Xavier Mena, and the conseller de Cultura, Ferran Mascarell, have also appointed Carles Flamerich, CEO of Telecommunications and the Information Society. Fira de Barcelona’s representatives are its Chairman, Josep Lluís Bonet, and CEO, Agustín Cordón, now adding Pedro Fontana, member of the Administrative Board. GSMA, which represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, has added Jeremy Sewell, COO and CEO of the association, who now joins Anne Bouverot, Managing Director and John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA Ltd.
Event of exceptional public interest
This morning, the Board also approved the incorporation in the Foundation of the Consortium, which will manage the use of the Barcelona Mobile World Capital brand by Spanish companies that, through their advertising, will contribute to promoting the initiative. In accordance with the Sponsorship Law, the constitution of this body is essential to ensure that these companies benefit from tax deductions derived from declaring the project an event of exceptional public interest included in the General State Budgets for 2012.
Mobile World Capital Barcelona is an initiative aimed at turning the city into the permanent global centre of mobile technologies, where people, companies and institutions work together to exploit the potential of mobile technologies as an element to transform daily life and create new business opportunities.
Promoted by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Barcelona City Council, Fira de Barcelona and GSMA – that represents the interests of over 800 mobile phone operators worldwide and over 2000 companies in the mobile ecosystem –, is based on four pillars: MWHub and MWCongress, concerned with industrial and business development, MWCentre and MWFestival that impact people and their social life.
Barcelona, 20th July 2012
