José María Álvarez-Pallete is chief operating officer of Telefónica. He is also a member of both Telefónica’s Executive Committee and its Digital Board. Before assuming these positions, Mr. Álvarez-Pallete served as chairman and CEO of Telefónica Europe from 2009 to 2011, and as CEO of Telefónica Latin America from 2006 to 2009. Previously, he served as managing director of Telefónica Latin America, chairman and CEO of Telefónica Internacional, general manager of Finance for Telefónica Internacional, and general manager of Corporate Finance in Telefónica. Before joining the Telefónica Group in 1999, Mr. Álvarez-Pallete worked for Cementos Portland (Cemex), Benito & Monjardín / Kidder, Peabody & Co., and Auditors Arthur Young. He has won several awards, including the CFO Europe Best Practice Award in the category of Mergers and Acquisitions 2000 by the CFO Europe Magazine, the “Forum de Alta Dirección” Golden Master, and the Best Business Leader 2011 by El Economista. Mr. Álvarez-Pallete is Honorific Member of Carlos III Foundation Latin-American Forum. He holds a degree in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid, as well as an international Management Programme from IPADE and an Advance Research Degree from the Complutense University of Madrid.