Isabel Linares

Professional Focus

• More than 30 years’ experience in leadership including C-suite executive and board roles as a director, non-executive director, chair and committee leader
• Extensive expertise in corporate governance and board consulting including director recruitment, board composition, diversity, assessment, compensation and optimisation
• Strong strategic and functional leadership with background in leadership development, organisational design, diversity & inclusion and change management
• Broad industry knowledge in the public and private sectors, spanning technology, insurance, healthcare, media (television & radio), executive education and professional services
• Native Spanish, fluent in English

Business Expertise

• Executive Director PwC Public Sector Observatory at ESADE Business School, focused on the Spanish public sector; created Executive Program for Public Leadership for senior executives in the public sector and government officials
• Non-Executive Director, Audit Committee Chair and Member of the Remuneration Committee of Grupo Memora
• Senior Counselor at PwC Spain; Member of the Advisory Board to the President; established Women to Watch initiative for female C-suite executives aspiring to board roles
• General Manager, PwC Public Sector Center at IE Business School, Madrid
• CEO of public broadcaster Telemadrid and Onda Madrid
• Deputy Managing Director and Executive Board Member of Sanitas Group, Spain’s leading private health insurer and healthcare provider, part of U.K.-based Bupa; previously Executive President of Sanitas Mayores, Institutional Relations Director, Mergers and Acquisitions Director; joined as Director of the Legal Department
• Started career as a corporate lawyer, serving as General Counsel at IBM; prior roles included Senior Counsel, Deputy to the CEO, and Attorney at IBM Spain and IBM Europe HQ in Paris

Sector Expertise

• CEO & Board Services
• Technology
• Insurance
• Healthcare
• Media (Television and Radio)
• Executive Education
• Professional Services / Consulting

Education & Certifications

• Law degree and Master’s degree from Complutense University of Madrid
• Post-Graduate Program at IESE Business School, University of Navarra
• Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP) at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• Executive Program at George Washington University School of Business
• Certification in Corporate Governance, Spanish Institute of Board Directors (IC-A)
• Creating Public Value: Challenges for Management and Public Policy, Harvard University
• Digital Business Management Executive Program, The Valley Business School, Madrid
• European Community Law at King’s College, London University

Affiliations & Awards

• Member, Madrid Bar Association
• Graduate Member, Spanish Institute of Board Directors
• Board Member and Global Communications Committee Member, International Women’s Forum (IWF), Madrid Chapter; former Global Board Director, Washington DC
• Board Member, Sanitas Foundation
• Board Member, Integra Foundation
• Board Member, Memora Foundation
• Advisory Board Member, IESE Business School
• Advisory Board Member, IE Business School Women Mentoring Program
• Named to Top 100 Women Leaders in Spain (2012)
• Numerous earlier board roles, including Board Chair, Executive and Non-Executive Board Director for public and private companies, non-profits, educational institutions and professional associations, primarily in health insurance and media