Marc Murtra and Emilio Gayo, the pair that seeks to create a European champion

The movement was a matter of time. Just a month and a half after The fulminant dismissal of José María Álvarez-Pallete, Marc Murtra has activated the total reorganization of Telefónica. Emilio Gayo’s choice as a new CEO is not just a change of names in the organization chart. It is the first visible piece of a deep transformation that goes far beyond daily management.

We are facing a first order turn in the company’s strategy. And the game is played three bands.

1. The Spanish government, represented by the SEPI with Its strategic 10%.
2. Saudi STC, with another 10% that activated all alarms.
3. And Criteria-La Caixa, the third actor of this new hard-acting hard nucleus.

Murtra has understood that the telecommunications sector is in total transformation and has placed this vision in the center of its strategy.

“It’s time for the large European telecommunications companies to consolidate and grow to create technological capacity,” The new president at the MWC of Barcelona cried out. The message was not subtle or wanted to be. Europe cannot continue with a fragmented telecos market while competing against US and Chinese giants operating in oligopolic conditions. The battle for technological sovereignty is underway, and Telefónica wants to play in First.

Gayo does not arrive by chance. Its results in Telefónica España – Revenue Failure, in Ebitda and in Clients For the first time since 2018– They are your presentation letter. An effective manager profile, knowledgeable about the entrails of the Teleco since 2004, which contrasts with the most visionary style and pallete transformer.

The new Telefónica bets on a balance between Gayo’s operational execution (the good results support him) and the strategic vision of Murtra (his Europeanist speech confirms it).

The next movements will also be a message. Each file that moves hides an intention.

It is being created a trust ecosystem around Murtra, While emblematic figures of the previous era like Chema Alonso are on the tightrope. So much Adslzone First as The economist Then, each with their respective sources, have anticipated their imminent departure from Telefónica.

The European telecommunications industry carries years suffering a paralyzing contradiction. You need scale to compete globally, but it’s subject to fragmented national regulations that prevent great mergers. If Murtra and Gayo achieve their goal, we could be before the first phase of an important reconfiguration of the sector.

Telefónica seeks to position itself as a central piece of that puzzle, as The nucleus of a hypothetical European champion Able to stand up to the American and Chinese giants.

In business jargon, a “European champion “ It is a company with the scale, influence and technological capacity to lead its sector in Europe and compete globally against US and Chinese giants.

Internal changes are just the prelude. The truth game will be played in Brussels, where Teresa Ribera, a new competition curator, will have a lot to say about the future of mergers in the sector. It is no accident that Murtra has decided to make European consolidation its flag precisely now.

The new Murtra-Gayo duo should not only manage a telecommunications company. Has to Lead a reconfiguration of an entire sector to compete in a global market dominated by large technology companies with the threat of telecos from both sides of the Pacific. The challenge is immense. And the pieces have only begun to move.

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