First Woman to Lead Romea Theatre Artistic Direction

Tania Brenlle, current artistic director of La Villarroel, will become the first woman to lead the artistic direction of Barcelona's historic Teatre Romea from the 2027–2028 season. She succeeds actor Josep Maria Pou, who steps into a new role as global ambassador for Grup Focus, tasked with identifying international performances for the group's venues.

Concurrently, journalist and former show distributor Carme Tierz will take over as artistic director of La Villarroel, replacing Brenlle. These changes coincide with Grup Focus’s 40th anniversary and mark a significant reshaping of leadership in Catalan performing arts.

Mango, Ford and NTT Data Appoint New Executives

Marlies Hersbach, currently head of e-commerce and customer experience at Mango, has been named Chief People Officer effective January 2027. She replaces David Payeras and will oversee talent management and corporate culture, reporting directly to CEO Toni Ruiz. The move aligns human resources with Mango’s international expansion strategy.

Elena Burguete will take over as director of Ford in Spain and Portugal on 1 December 2026, succeeding Jesús Alonso, who retires after leading the Iberian subsidiary since 2015. With over 30 years at Ford across marketing, sales and finance roles in both Iberia and the UK, Burguete brings extensive regional experience.

NTT Data has appointed Ana Rita Pereira as Chief Executive for the Public Sector in Europe. She joins after 11 years at Microsoft, where she led digital transformation projects for public institutions. In her new role, she will drive strategies in government digitalisation, focusing on cybersecurity, technological sovereignty and artificial intelligence.

Leadership Changes Across Other Catalan Institutions

  • Xavier Puig Alsina becomes president of the Patronage Council at Gran Teatre del Liceu, replacing Helena Guardans, the foundation’s first female president.
  • Pol Solanellas takes the helm of Cerclemón, Cecot’s solidarity commission, succeeding Marta Sánchez Ugart.
  • Simon Dew joins Integra Therapeutics as Business Development Director, bringing experience from Astellas Pharma, GSK and Bristol Myers.
  • Anna Solé becomes Operations Director at PIB Group Iberia, overseeing digitalisation and process automation.
  • Michel Kisfaludi is named Chief Operating Officer at Founderz, a Barcelona-based AI training and solutions firm.
  • Five researchers from Sant Pau Institute and the Memory Unit assume leadership roles in ISTAART, Alzheimer’s Association’s global research network.

Reported by viaempresa.cat.