José María Álvarez Pallete, Isabel Gabarró, Joaquín Gay de Montellá and Pablo Isla join the "la Caixa" Banking Foundation Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees of the "la Caixa" Banking Foundation has approved in Barcelona the partial renewal of its members, as well as the re-election for the next four years of Isidro Fainé, as President of the institution, and Juan José López Burniol, as Vice-President.

In this regard, the Foundation's Board of Trustees will incorporate José María Álvarez Pallete, Isabel Gabarró, Joaquín Gay de Montellá and Pablo Isla from its next meeting, replacing Salvador Alemany, César Alierta, Antoni Fitó and Javier Solana, whose terms of office are due to expire on a temporary basis.

The entity wished to thank the four outgoing trustees for their valuable dedication and criteria in preserving - over the last few years - the ultimate aim of the Foundation; the construction of a fairer society with more opportunities for all, especially for those who need them most.

The "la Caixa" Foundation, whose CEO is Antonio Vila Bertrán, will have a budget of 515 million euros in 2022, an increase on last year's allocation of 510 million. In this way, the entity consolidates its social commitment, maintaining for the thirteenth consecutive year a budget of more than 500 million euros.

Overcoming child poverty in Spain (with 61,244 children and their families assisted in 2021), promoting employment among groups with difficulties (48,758 job opportunities created), caring for people with advanced illnesses (34. 670 patients cared for), supporting social organisations, promoting education and training for all kinds of groups, disseminating culture and science among people of all ages (5 million people visited the CaixaForum, CosmoCaixa and travelling exhibition centres) and medical research continue to be the main priorities.

Within this last line, the entity is working on the CaixaResearch Institute project, a research centre dedicated to life sciences with a mainly preclinical and translational vision, particularly in the fields of infectious diseases, global health, oncology and neurosciences. The new centre will have an investment of some 60 million euros and its creation and development will be supervised by Javier Solana, who continues to be linked to the "la Caixa" Foundation as chairman of its Scientific Committee.

José María Álvarez Pallete, a graduate in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid and the Université Libre de Bruxelles, has been Executive Chairman of Telefónica since April 2016 and also chairs the Telefónica Foundation. Previously, he was CEO of the company since 2012 and a member of its Board of Directors since July 2006. Since March 2019 he has been a member of SEAT's Advisory Board and since February 2022 Chairman of the Board of the GSMA. He has been Honorary Ambassador of Marca España since 2021.

Isabel Gabarró Miquel, a notary public in Barcelona, joined the notarial profession in 1979. She graduated in Law from the University of Barcelona in 1976. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona, as well as of several listed companies such as Fuerzas Eléctricas de Cataluña (Fecsa) and Repsol (from May 2009 to March 2017 as an independent director). She is a member of the Sociedad Económica Barcelonesa de Amigos del País and co-author of several legal publications.

Joaquín Gay de Montellá Ferrer-Vidal, businessman, was president of the Catalan employers' association Foment del Treball Nacional between 2011 and 2018, and is a member of the Board of Trustees in representation of this entity within the rotating turn that the Statutes of the "la Caixa" Banking Foundation reserve for representatives of the founding entities of the Caja de Pensiones para la Vejez y de Ahorros, "la Caixa". His great-grandfather's brother, Luis Ferrer-Vidal i Soler, was the first president of the institution in 1904, and its general manager was Francesc Moragas i Barret.

Pablo Isla Álvarez de Tejera, a state lawyer, holds a law degree from the Complutense University. Until 1 April, he holds the position of Executive Chairman of the textile group Inditex (which he joined as CEO in 2005). Previously, he chaired Altadis (2000-2005), was general secretary of Banco Popular and, previously, director general of State Assets. In 2017 and 2018, he was recognised as the best CEO in the world by the Harvard Business Review.

The composition of the Board of Trustees of the "la Caixa" Foundation is as follows:

Chairman

Mr. Isidro Fainé Casas

Vice-Chairman

Mr. Juan José López Burniol

Trustees

Mr. José María Álvarez Pallete Mr. Shlomo Ben-Ami

Mr. Luis Carreras del Rincón (designated by the Spanish Red Cross) Mrs. Isabel Estapé Tous

Ms Isabel Gabarró Miquel

Mr Eugenio Gay Montalvo (designated by Cáritas Diocesana de Barcelona)

Mr Joaquín Gay de Montellá Ferrer-Vidal (designated by Foment del Treball Nacional) Mr Javier Godó Muntañola

Mr. Francesc Homs Ferret

Mr Pablo Isla Álvarez de Tejera Mr Marc Murtra Millar

Ms. Asunción Ortega Enciso Mr. Artur Santos Silva

Secretary (non-trustee)

Mr. Josep María Coronas Guinart

Director General (non-trustee)

Mr. Antonio Vila Bertrán

Deputy Director General (non-trustee)

Ms. Elisa Durán Montolío