Javier Albares

Javier Albares Bueno is Head of Program at the Smart Network and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS-JU) of the European Commission. Previously, he worked as Head of Telco Solutions at Here Technologies, a location technology firm with focus on positioning and automation. He also collaborated in 5GAA, as Vice-chair of working group 5 (future business models). Between 2013 and 2021 he worked for GSMA, the world’s largest telecoms association, as Director of Innovation (Brussels office) and Director of Strategy (London office). During this time, he worked to identify future sources of value and opportunities for industry collaboration in the transition to 5G. Previosly, he worked for 13 years at Telefonica-O2, as Director of strategy, mobile services and alliances, both in Europe and Latin America. He started his career as Telecom analyst for HSBC Investment Bank in London. Javier holds an Advanced Management Program from INSEAD France, an MBA from IESE Business School and a double bachelor’s degree in business science and economics from ICADE-Comillas Pontificia University. He has also completed programs on Innovation Management at IMD and on Artificial Intelligence at MIT Sloan.