Barcelona has a new Director General at Mobile World Capital Barcelona, with Laia Corbella appointed to the role after a unanimous vote by the foundation’s board.
Corbella replaces Francesc Fajula and brings more than 15 years of experience across the public and private sectors, with a focus on business and innovation ecosystems. Her background also includes work in strategic communication and institutional positioning.
Since 2022, she has been Director of Institutional Relations and Public Affairs at Mobile World Capital Barcelona. In that post, she worked to strengthen the foundation’s role in Catalonia’s scientific and technology scene, building links with public and private bodies and supporting Barcelona’s position as an international digital hub. For more on the organisation, see our news coverage.
The board’s decision was proposed by Barcelona City Council and backed by all foundation patrons, including the Catalan government, the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function, Fira de Barcelona, GSMA, Telefónica, Vodafone, Orange, CaixaBank and Damm. The foundation said the broad support reflects institutional consensus for its next stage.
Before joining the foundation, Corbella was Director of Communication for the Catalan government’s Department of Business and Knowledge. She also led Via Empresa from its launch. An independent specialist firm ran the selection process, which followed the foundation’s usual governance channels before board ratification.
Barcelona mayor and Mobile World Capital Barcelona board president Jaume Collboni said the city hosts 203 multinational tech hubs and has significant digital talent. He said the value of Mobile World Congress lies in the ecosystem built through the year, and that the foundation helps train talent, support companies and boost the city’s international profile. He also said 2026 has been a record year and that Barcelona should continue to project its own voice in debates on technological humanism, with people at the centre and innovation serving daily life. Read more on the Mobile World Capital Barcelona website.
Corbella said the foundation wants to keep a successful project moving forward while entering a new stage of growth and impact. Francesc Fajula ends a four-year term as director general, during which the foundation strengthened its work in digital talent and technology transfer.