José María Álvarez-Pallete López (born 12 December 1963, Madrid) is a Spanish economist and chief executive officer of Telefónica S.A. from 8 April 2016 to January 2025, when he was replaced by Marc Murtra.

[1] José María Álvarez-Pallete began his professional career at Arthur Young Auditors in 1987, before joining Benito & Monjardín/Kidder, Peabody & Co. in 1988.

After this, in 1995, he joined the Compañía Valenciana de Cementos Portland (CEMEX) as head of the Investor Relations and Analysis Department.

[6] In September 2011, he was promoted to chief executive officer (CEO) of Telefónica Europe;[7] at that time, he developed Wayra, the accelerator of Startup Company in Latin America and Spain.

[citation needed] On 20 March 2016, César Alierta left the position of chief executive officer (CEO) of Telefónica S.A. and named José Maria Álvarez-Pallete as his successor, who took up the CEO position on 8 April 2016,[9][10] Since March 2019 he is member of the Advisory Council of SEAT, S.A.[11] In January 2022, he was appointed president of the GSM Association (GSMA) succeeding the president of Orange, Stéphane Richard.