How long have you been with Telefónica and what is your assessment of your time here?
If I am not mistaken, I have been here since February 2017. That’s six and a half years now… it’s hard to believe! I joined as a Talentum intern and, if I’m honest, I wasn’t very clear about what Sustainability was and, even less, about Diversity and Inclusion, but it sounded very good to me and I took the plunge. In other words, I learnt practically from scratch, without too many expectations, but with a lot of enthusiasm, and that’s how I continue to this day. The assessment, therefore, can only be positive. I am very grateful to the company and to my team for having invested in me and for everything I have learned and continue to learn. Telefónica is a giant where you never stop getting into new trouble, meeting new people and facing new challenges, which motivates me and I enjoy it. Not everything is positive, of course there are moments of frustration, overwhelm or insecurity, but in my opinion they are a necessary part of the path to discovering all the good things.
Is there any project at Telefónica that you feel particularly satisfied with or proud of?
There are many that I am proud of, not individually but with all the people in the different teams I have worked with. If I had to say one… I find it difficult, but I would say that I smile when I think that in the last quarter of last year we approved a very ambitious goal: to double the number of employees with disabilities working for Telefónica worldwide between 2022 and 2024. It is a huge challenge and I have to say that the People areas are working very hard to achieve it, but in any case I think it is very worthwhile, that it is going to make Telefónica a better company and that all of us who have been involved in it are very happy to have done our bit.
What do you think Telefónica has contributed to society since its inception?
The value of connectivity is unquestionable. In fact, it had already escaped me in the last answer. Telefónica’s raison d’être is precisely that, to make its infrastructure available to society to break down barriers and make people’s lives easier. It has been doing this for 100 years, something that few companies can say. And, moreover, it has always done so responsibly, thinking not only about business but also about people. As Head of Diversity and Inclusion, I can’t help remembering that Telefónica was one of the pioneers in incorporating women into the labour market in Spain, the famous “cable girls“.
Where do you see Telefónica in the future?
This is more difficult to predict. If these last few years have shown anything, it is that forecasts do not always come true. All in all, I would say that I see a strong Telefónica, totally unrecognisable and unimaginable today, because we are unable to imagine the technologies that will be there in a century’s time, but equally at the forefront and always putting people at the centre of its activity.
Could you live without a mobile phone?
Could you? I imagine that yes, I could. It would be pretentious to say no. Now, I read the question and it gave me a little twinge of anxiety in my stomach. I don’t consider myself an addict (although perhaps you would have to ask those around me) and, in fact, I believe that using technology responsibly is key to being at ease with yourself and others. However, although I suppose I could, nowadays the mobile phone is a necessity and not a luxury. It’s about work, but it’s also about connecting with family when you’re far away, organising a get-together with friends, keeping up with what’s going on in the world, finding a specialist doctor or simply knowing how to get from one place to another on public transport without getting lost. It would be very, very difficult to do without all that and much more.
Help us solve one of the great enigmas of humanity: the potato omelette… With onion or without onion?
I connect (I’m not getting out of the jargon…) more with the omelette without onion. Yes, I know I’ve hurt susceptibilities, but the omelette itself is such a delight that why cover its flavour with other ingredients? I’m not very innovative here, no.
Nominate another colleague to appear in this section
I nominate my partner Hisako Nakajima
