Murtra guarantees to show Telefónica into top-of-the-line ‘telcos’ on the planet in 2035 | Economy | EUROtoday

The govt president of Telefónica, Marc Murtra, dedicated this Thursday earlier than the General Meeting of Shareholders to show the multinational into top-of-the-line telecommunications operators in Europe by 2030 and on the planet by 2035. During his speech in Madrid, Murtra identified that the corporate has begun a part of direct execution of its strategic plan Transform & Grow to reply to a technological atmosphere that he described as “disruptive” and “dizzying.”

“At Telefónica we assume the indisputable challenge of being the best way for citizens, companies and institutions to access digital technologies, and being one of the best telcos of Europe in 2030 and one of the best in the world in 2035″, stated the president of the operator. Murtra once again defended that the consolidation of the sector in Europe is a necessary condition to guarantee the technological sovereignty of the continent in the face of competition from the United States and China. According to the manager, the current fragmentation of the European market limits scale, reduces investment and makes innovation difficult, which is why the operator advocates mergers and acquisitions.

In the area of ​​acquisitions, Murtra highlighted the purchase of Netomnia in the United Kingdom as a strategic move to strengthen the group’s presence in one of the most relevant markets in Europe. The operation aims to strengthen next-generation network capabilities. Likewise, the president announced the objective of increasing Telefónica’s presence in the Defense sector, although he did not detail the specific operations that will be carried out in this segment during 2026.

The Catalan executive explained that the operator has passed a 15-month diagnostic phase to enter a “direct execution” stage. In this evaluation, the president recognized 5 structural deficiencies that the corporate has begun to appropriate: organizational complexity, sluggish execution, poor monetary flexibility, value stress and resistance to creating troublesome selections. “Transformation is not born from comfort, it is born from determination,” the supervisor advised the shareholders.

In assessing the situation in the sector, the president warned that in the last four months there have been more disruptive and useful technological advances than in the last 30 years. Given this pace of change, Murtra assured that the company must take advantage of new opportunities generated by emerging challenges. “We don’t follow the wind: we adjust the sails,” he stated, underlining the operator’s willingness to adapt to gain competitive speed in the environment of artificial intelligence.

During his speech, Marc Murtra used personal references to explain his management model. He mentioned the annual celebration of a “calçotada” with those close to him as a way to transfer the spirit of service and trust towards the client to the professional sphere. Likewise, he introduced the term “proditomania” – the fear that collaborators seek the leader’s harm – to ensure that this feeling is non-existent in Telefónica’s structure, thanking the professionalism of the employees.

This year’s meeting stood out for a significant change in the clothing protocol of the company’s top managers. Both the executive president and the rest of the members of the board of directors (with the exception of Isidre Fainé, president of CriteriaCaixa) appeared on stage without a tie.

Murtra, in particular, completed its clothing with sneakers, an image that the company links to the desire to renew and adapt to the aesthetics of the global technology sector. This “untied” staging occurs within the framework of the board’s central message, “Telefónica complies,” with which the management team intends to stage a break with the operator’s historical formalities to prioritize the execution of the digital transformation, according to internal sources of the group.

Compensations

Despite the strategic focus on the future, the board has developed under pressure from large institutional funds regarding remuneration reporting. The point of greatest friction during the day was the vote on the annual remuneration report, corresponding to the year in which payments were made to the previous management leadership, with a disbursement of 78.4 million euros paid jointly to José María Álvarez-Pallete and Ángel Vilá after their departure from the company in January 2025.

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the Norwegian sovereign fund that owns 1.5% of Telefónica, has voted against this point. The fund argues that severance payments should be limited to a maximum of two years of salary to align with international standards of good governance. The California pension funds, Calpers and Calstrs, have joined this opposition. These investors have also voted against the re-election of María Luisa García Blanco as an independent director, considering her responsible for authorizing said payments from the remuneration committee.

Voting advisors Glass Lewis and ISS recommended rejection of the remuneration policy, pointing out a “disconnection” between senior management compensation and the stock market performance of the stock, which registered a 16% drop in the last twelve months. Faced with these criticisms, Telefónica has submitted to the board the approval of a new remuneration policy that will come into full force in 2027, which prohibits the simultaneous collection of compensation and pension plans, and reduces the withdrawal limit to two annuities.

Changes in the council

Murtra stressed his intention to renew the company’s board of directors, pointing out the importance of adding “new profiles that assist us strengthen” the highest management body, placing special emphasis on the search for professionals who provide a solid track record in the digital technology field and experience in international markets.

The changes in the governing body have already begun. The session made official the departure of José María Abril, vice president and proprietary director of BBVA, after 19 years in the governing body. The April departure marks the end of the bank’s direct representation on the board, following the entity’s decision not to consider its 5% stake as a strategic asset.

To fill the vacancies, the appointment of the Australian Jane Thompson as an independent director has been approved, with the aim of strengthening the technological and international profile of the board. Ana Martínez, Mónica Rey and César Mascaraque have also been ratified as independents. With these changes, the operator also seeks to reach a majority of non-executive directors and increase professional and gender diversity.

The Shareholders’ Meeting has permitted a dividend of 0.15 euros gross per share charged to reserves, the fee of which can be made on June 18, 2026. Likewise, PwC has been ratified as auditor till 2029.