How long have you been with Telefónica and what is your assessment of your time here?
I started working at Telefónica Servicios de Música in February 2008, which later became Telefónica Onthespot Services. Right now I am still at Telefónica Tech, so it has been no less than 15 years in this company. As every year you face new challenges and projects, and you never have the feeling of stagnation. At Telefónica I have been able to have a very interesting professional career, surrounded by excellent professionals from whom I learn a lot, so I always have a very satisfying feeling of continuous growth.
Is there any project at Telefónica that you are particularly satisfied with or proud of?
I feel particularly satisfied with the Dufry shops digitalisation project, which was at the time the biggest project I had ever faced and a challenge at all levels. When I finally had a holiday and toured the T4 terminal, and was able to see the deployment of technologies and content from a user’s point of view, I felt really grateful to be able to work in a company with such a great projection as Telefónica, which allows me to see my own work “in person” and not only through networks or press releases, which is magnificent.
Other projects that have been very dear to me have been many of those that have not come out, for brands that I can’t name. It often seems that we can only be proud of the projects that come out and forget the ones we participated in, even if they are not implemented; and I think it is also important to remember these projects with affection. In the end I have learned the same or more from many of them and it has been by daring to do new things, stepping out of my comfort zone and facing challenging challenges that I have been able to improve a lot as a professional and eventually take on leadership roles.
What do you think Telefónica has contributed to society from birth?
Telefónica has always been committed to technology and to bringing people together through connections: what they proposed in 1924 was innovative for the time. I believe that this message cannot be forgotten, in the end technology is nothing without people, and one of our fundamental missions is to bring people together and to always be at the forefront, eliminating a lot of physical, socio-cultural, technological, gender barriers… I think the Centenary has to be not only a celebration of the past, but also of the future: here’s to another 100 years!
Where do you see Telefónica in the future?
Telefónica has the capacity to be a key player in the future of telecommunications, and the commitment to digital technologies in Telefónica Tech is a sign of the company’s interest in being at the forefront of these technologies. In 100 years, it is likely that human beings will experience strange moments due to the revolution that is coming, such as Artificial Intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, transhumanism, the exploration (and exploitation) of outer space, etc…. And I think that at times like these, the most ethical and responsible companies like ours are going to have a lot to say in terms of how human beings and this technology are going to relate to each other. I also think that devices are going to be more and more discreet, not just wearables, but they will be practically intangible and they will be everywhere; having a network capable of supporting this massive amount of data that is reliable, robust, confidential and secure is going to be a challenge when we are going to be practically hyper-connected to reality. However, I am confident that Telefónica has the capabilities to achieve this.
Could you live without a mobile phone?
Obviously you can live without mobile phones, or the internet…. But just as you can live without clothes or shoes, without a roof over your head or medicine. I think the real question is: is it worth living without the ability to connect? To live without a mobile phone is, today, to live isolated from reality. And I believe that the possibilities offered by having a mobile device with access to the net is invaluable. You can live, but you live much worse, with fewer opportunities, more isolated?
Help us to solve one of the great enigmas of humanity: the potato omelette… With onion or without onion?
The onion is to the potato omelette what a net is to a mobile phone. A mobile phone is great, but without a network, it’s not 100% usable.
Nominate another colleague to appear in this section
I nominate my colleagues Jose Luis Bello Manteiga and Enrique Ronda del Corro, and my colleagues Berta Montero García, Ruth García Noguera and Adriana Pinto Rocha.
