Barcelona is set to confirm a new top executive at Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital), with Laia Corbella due to become the foundation’s director general. The board of trustees is expected to formalise the appointment on Monday, according to El Periódico, a report later confirmed by ARA.
Corbella’s name is the only proposal that will go before the board, which is meeting to complete the succession of Francesc Fajula. Fajula left the role in May and will now lead the artificial intelligence gigafactory project in Móra la Nova.
The selection process was handled by the executive search firm Seeliger y Conde. The same firm managed the previous succession in 2022, when Carlos Grau was replaced by Fajula. Corbella was one of several candidates first put forward to the foundation’s executive committee, before her name was the only one advanced to the board.
The board of trustees is chaired by Barcelona City Council, represented by Mayor Jaume Collboni. The Catalan government and the Spanish government also hold vice-presidencies, with Albert Dalmau and Óscar López representing their respective administrations. The board also includes private sector figures such as Pau Relat, president of Fira de Barcelona, and John Hoffman, president of GSMA, the mobile industry association that organises the Mobile World Congress.
Other members of the board include companies such as Telefónica, Vodafone, Damm and CaixaBank. For more Catalonia-wide technology and business coverage, see our news page.
Born in Lleida in 1985, Corbella has worked in journalism with a focus on economics and technology in Catalonia. She was the first director of the digital economic publication VIA Empresa, and later led communications for the Catalan government’s Department of Business and Knowledge during Àngels Chacón’s time as minister.
Corbella later joined MWCapital as director of communication and institutional relations, a post she has held until this expected promotion. Her move to the foundation’s top job marks a new step in her career within Catalonia’s technology and business sector.