Carlos Grau named new CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona

• Grau’s appointment, which will become effective in the next few days, was confirmed today during the meeting held by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees
• Holder of a degree in industrial engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and having completed a Management Training Programme (PDD) at IESE, Grau has enjoyed a long career in the ICT sector
• The Mobile World Capital Board of Trustees approved the 2018 budget and rated the performance of the management team over the last few months positively

8 November 2017

Carlos Grau has been appointed CEO of the Mobile World Capital Barcelona Foundation (MWCapital). Following the proposal approved on 26 October by the Foundation’s Executive Committee, the new CEO will take over the management, administration and representation of MWCapital. Grau’s appointment was confirmed today during the meeting held by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

With a degree in industrial engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and having studied a Management Training Programme (PDD) at IESE, Carlos Grau has enjoyed an impressive career both in the field of information and communication technology and digital business development. After holding several management positions in sales and marketing in companies within the ICT sector, such as Hewlett-Packard, Accenture and Telefónica, Grau joined Microsoft as General Manager in Catalonia.

In recent years, Grau has focused his professional activity on the field of innovation, where he has led projects such as Biid, a startup centred on mobile identity, or Step One Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in technological companies with high growth potential. He has also acted as a mentor to entrepreneurs through Barcelona Activa or the Startupbootcamp IoT & Data business acceleration programme promoted in partnership with MWCapital.

“Becoming part of the MWCapital team is a great responsibility that I am very excited to accept,” explained Grau. The new CEO of the Mobile World Capital Barcelona Foundation also pointed out that, “Since its creation, the Foundation has expertly and consistently understood the crucial role played by digitalisation in social and economic development. Now it is time to move forward in building this legacy by continuing the work carried out until now and maximising its positive impact on social issues, employment and the improvement of company productivity and competitiveness.”

Budget approval and assessment of management performance

The Board of Trustees’ meeting also saw the approval of the MWCapital budget for 2018, which was also presented by the Executive Committee following their last meeting held on 26 October. Moreover, the governing body made a positive assessment of the management team’s performance over the last few months.

The Board of Trustees emphasised the importance of 4YFN as a platform that promotes contact between startups, investors, corporations and institutions, in addition to its ability to connect and strengthen Barcelona’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Among its most recent activities, the Board highlighted the platform’s participation in international initiatives and events such as the European Cardiology Congress, DLD Tel Aviv, Mobile World Congress Americas or Smart City World Congress.

The launch of “The Collider”, the new MWCapital innovation programme that encourages technology transfer from universities and research centres to the market, was also reviewed at the meeting. The Collider encourages scientists and entrepreneurs to merge their talents by founding tech startups together.

The Trustees also reviewed the progress of the rest of the initiatives promoted by the Foundation, such as the d-LAB programme, giving particular attention to the challenges that tackle the empowerment of people with disabilities using mobile technology, the first results of which will be displayed at the Mobile World Congress 2018. Finally, the Trustees also centred their attention on MWCapital’s strategy to gain relevance within the framework of European policies on the single digital market, which entails taking part in 6 projects financed by the European Commission.