GSMA Elects New Board Members; José María Álvarez-Pallete López Re-Elected as Chair

24 October 2024: The GSMA has elected new members of the GSMA Board of Directors for a two-year term beginning 1 January 2025 through 31 December 2026. The GSMA Board has also elected José María Álvarez-Pallete López, as Chair, and Gopal Vittal as Deputy Chair. As GSMA Chair, Mr Álvarez-Pallete López will oversee the strategic direction of the organisation, which represents the world’s mobile operators and companies in the broader mobile ecosystem.

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO - Bharti Airtel

“I am honored and excited to be re-appointed as Chair. I look forward to another term of working together with our talented team to achieve our goals and continue to make a lasting impact. Together, we will continue to stay at the forefront of trends and make a positive impact in our industry,” said José María Álvarez-Pallete López.

Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA commented; “The industry is going through rapid change, driven by advances in technology, digital transformation, and the rise of AI. It is a very exciting time to be part of this transformation, and I am confident that with the leadership of the Chair and our Board, the GSMA is well-positioned to successfully continue to advocate for our members and achieve our goals”. He added that “we are excited to welcome the new and re-elected Board members, and we thank the outgoing Board members for their outstanding support.”

GSMA Board Members for the 2025-2026 Term

There are 26 members of the GSMA Board. Members include senior representatives from global mobile operators as well as smaller independent operators. The GSMA Board for the 2025-2026 term includes, in alphabetical order:

  1. America Movil, Carlos M. Jarque, Executive Director of Corporate, Government and International Relations
  2. AT&T, F. Thaddeus Arroyo, Chief Strategy and Development Officer
  3. Bharti Airtel, Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
  4. BT (EE Ltd.), Allison Kirkby, Group CEO
  5. China Mobile, Gao Tongqing, Executive Vice President
  6. China Telecom, Li Jun, Executive Vice President
  7. China Unicom[1]
  8. Deutsche Telekom, Dominique Leroy, Board Member for Europe
  9. e&, Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO
  10. Ethio Telecom, Frehiwot Tamru, CEO
  11. Globe, Ernest Lawrence Cu, President and CEO
  12. GSMA, Mats Granryd, Director General
  13. KDDI, Makoto Takahashi, Group CEO
  14. KT, Young Shub Kim, Group CEO
  15. Liberty Global, Mike Fries, CEO
  16. MTN, Ralph Mupita, Group President and CEO
  17. Orange, Bruno Zerbib, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer
  18. Reliance Jio, Mathew Oommen, President and Member of the Board
  19. Telecom Argentina, Roberto Nobile, CEO
  20. Telefonica, Jose Maria Álvarez-Pallete, Chairman & CEO
  21. Telenor, Benedicte Fasmer, President and Group CEO Elect
  22. TIM, Pietro Labriola, Group CEO and General Manager
  23. Turkcell, Ali Taha Koc, CEO
  24. Veon, Kaan Terzioglu, Group CEO & Board member of VEON Group
  25. Verizon, Joe Russo, EVP & President of Global Networks and Technology
  26. Vodafone, Margherita Della Valle, Group CEO