A communications and reputation management consultancy firm that has been offering tailor-made solutions to meet our clients’ needs since 2009. We are loyal, perfectionists and love a job well done, and we are also committed to the results of our work.
“Between two explanations, choose the clearest; between two ways, the most basic; between two expressions, the most concise.”
We work hard to create value for our clients.
Everyone at PROA is aligned with our clients’ businesses, knowing that every point of contact is an opportunity to leave a positive and lasting impression, an opportunity to build an impeccable reputation of success. Our capacity to adapt and be flexible enables us to form multi-disciplinary senior teams based on the scope of each challenge. We work as an extension of client teams, as just another member of their crew.
We believe in the importance of enjoying our work and using it to shape a better society, bringing pragmatism, optimism and honesty to everything we do. This commitment is reflected in the proposals we offer to our clients, in the relationships we build between ourselves and our partners and suppliers, and in the final results from the projects we undertake. Every day we strive to demonstrate the utmost levels of quality, professionalism, honesty and integrity.
We aspire to be the best in terms of results, dedication and commitment to the success of our clients.
Our goal is to help our clients achieve their reputational and growth targets, and do so as effectively as possible in terms of time, resources and results.
Flexibility is part of our DNA and it enables us to respond efficiently to the challenges of our clients, offering them the best solution to suit their reality, with the best senior talent in the market and with tailored services throughout the process.
In these times of noise characterised by haste and short-lived ideas, we advocate the necessary reflection for taking decisions that will have a positive impact on our clients’ reputation and businesses and on society.
It was during the 2015 May Bank Holiday in Spain, sat at the bar in Cañadío, close to the sea in their home town of Santander, when Lucía Casanueva and Valvanuz Serna, two former professional colleagues, decided to combine their vision, experience and skills to transform PROA into the trusted consultancy firm of company boards and senior executives in Spain. This was how PROA came to be, based on a firm conviction that there was a niche in the market for a new standard in high-performance communications consultancy services based on rigour, excellence and discretion.
Lucía Casanueva is a professional with extensive experience in corporate, financial and crisis communications. Over the course of her more than 20-year career, she has worked in Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain at leading multinationals in the sector, such as LLYC, Kreab and Edelman. She set up PROA Comunicación in 2009 and swiftly gained the trust of her clients thanks to her experience and knowledge of the business sector. Her professional achievements include the management of crisis communications following the railway accident in Santiago de Compostela in 2013; consultancy on the investment by OHL in Inmobiliaria Colonial; the communications strategy adopted by the hotel chain Room Mate to become a love brand; and corporate consultancy and advice on operations for clients that include Lacoste, Artá Capital, Mercapital, etc. With a commitment to excellence and client satisfaction, her tenacity and hard-working nature always drive her to stay one step ahead of the competition. She has been published in the media, including Expansión, El Confidencial, Voz Pópuli, ABC and Telva. She has a Degree in Journalism from the University of Navarre, has completed an Executive Development Programme (PDD) at the IESE Business School and studied a post-graduate degree at the Deusto Business School and the London School of Economics (LSE). She is a member of the Ex-Alumni Associations of IESE, the University of Navarre and Corporate Excellence, and the Advisory Board of the Woman Forward Foundation.
Valvanuz Serna Ruiz is a specialist in corporate communications, mainly in the FMCG and professional services sectors. She has more than 20 years of experience in the creation, development and implementation of integrated communications plans for national and international clients in various sectors. She has worked for clients that include Diageo, Talgo, Citigroup, Philip Morris, Colgate and Telefónica, to which she provided consultancy services at times of crucial change in the market. In 2015 she joined Lucía to head up PROA and position it as the benchmark consultancy firm for effective communications. Valvanuz began her career at LLYC and, following periods at Porter Novelli and Ketchum, she became a partner director of the MC Dilo agency, where she designed and implemented external and internal communications plans over nine years for Altran, eDreams, La Sirena, Hotel Alfonso XIII, Hotel María Cristina, 3i, KPMG and NEC. Her perfectionist nature and attention to detail are reflected in everything she does. Conveying her love for the profession to the PROA team is one of her top priorities. She has a Degree in Law from the University of Cantabria and has completed a Corporate Leadership in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programme at the Deusto Business School. She is a member of Deusto Business Alumni.
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Ana has more than ten years of experience in leading communications firms and institutional firms. She has worked on and implemented various institutional and political communications campaigns and plans in various strategic sectors. Ana has been Head of Communications for the President of the Provincial Council of Pontevedra and Office Director at the Economic and Industry Affairs Council and at the Secretariat-General for Tourism of the Regional Government of Galicia.
Ana has a Degree in the History of Art from the University of Santiago de Compostela, a Master’s Degree in Marketing and Communications and has completed an Executive Programme at the ESADE Business School, The Global CCO, on the management of intangible assets.
With over 25 years of experience in marketing, strategy and communications, Mireia has worked in Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Spain at technology and services companies that include Microsoft and Oracle. She has extensive experience in new technologies, having worked for various start-ups to help them get a foothold in new markets, define new business categories and successfully position themselves for stock market flotations or acquisitions. She has designed and implemented communications and reputation campaigns targeted at media, industrial analysts, social media and official bodies for major companies and SMEs on an international level.
Mireia has a Degree in Business Science and an MBA from the ESADE Business School. She began her career at SEIDOR.
Pablo has extensive experience in the world of sponsorship and communications in the world of sport and the automotive industry. At the start of his career while heading up his own agency, he developed innovative sponsorship stimulus programmes for companies that include Audi, Bombardier, Seita (Gauloises), Diageo (Johnnie Walker), Quiksilver and Bridgestone. He was then Global Formula 1 Sponsorship Manager for Banco Santander for seven years, overseeing agreements with the Ferrari team, McLaren and 4 Grand Prix. More recently, he has been responsible for business development in the Spanish-speaking world for the multinational sports marketing company CSM, based in London. He worked with various communications media, such as the magazine Car & Driver, and as a sports commentator on AXN and Canal+.
Pablo has a Degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid and an MBA from the IE Business School.
Head of Crisis Communications
Yago has extensive experience in corporate communications and crisis communications management, a subject he also teaches as a professor at the IESE Business School, both on the MBA programme and on open and business programmes. His most recent book is entitled “Empresas líderes a través de tormentas y crisis: principios y mejores prácticas en prevención de conflictos, gestión de crisis y comunicación” (2018). After receiving his Degree in Law, Yago de la Cierva dedicated his career to the four branches of communications: journalism (he set up and ran the international news agency, ROME Reports), corporate communications (he was Head of Corporate Communications at the IESE Business School), university education and consultancy on crisis management. His professional interests cover three areas: crisis management, all aspects of corporate communications and the organization of major events as communications tools.
Head of Human Resources
Ana Heras Piedrabuena is a specialist in Human Resources, group coaching, training and selection of senior executives. During her extensive professional career she has heldpositions of responsibility in companies such as El Corte Inglés, where she worked for14 years selecting and training managers and future leaders, as well as collaborating in the inauguration of nearly 30 Shopping Centres in Spain and Portugal. She has alsocollaborated in the selection of personnel and the training of teams and managers withcompanies such as Laboratorios Boiron, VP Hotels, Hilton, Dixons Group, Banca March, Imantia, Repsol and Mercados Aries in Ethiopian Electric Power. To solve theproblems of work environment, absenteeism and productivity in some companies, he uses an exclusive group coaching methodology.
She is also responsible for Cedel Foundation’s psychology department and has had herown psychology practice for more than fifteen years. Ana is a member of the SpanishAssociation of Psychosomatic Medicine and the Comillas Alumni Association.
An expert in the production of creative content, Ben headed up the general management of Kelsing Comunicación and Warren Films, and set up Oz Postprod together with Santiago Segura. He is also a founding partner of the Digital Television Film School Séptima Ars and Santa Bárbara Music. His work to introduce emotional narrative elements into the DGT 2016 campaign was recognised by the El Sol Advertising Festival and the Club de Creativos.
Ben has completed the MFA Programme in Cinematographic Production at the University of California in Los Angeles, and has a BA with Honours in Sociology and Arts from Wesleyan University (1987). He also won a Lewis Prize in the Best Critical Essay category.
Dolors Marco has 30 years of experience in the health sector, with more than 20 in managerial positions. She spent five years as the Corporate Director of Reputation and Communication at the University Clinic of Navarre at its headquarters in Pamplona and Madrid. In 2017, she set up the first Reputation Department in a Spanish hospital, consolidating the University Clinic as the Spanish private hospital with the best reputation (MRS 2016-2021), and placing it among the 50 best hospitals in the world and among the 40 best Spanish companies (MERCO 2022). During the pandemic, she created, together with her team, a new way of communicating and established a model of relations with the media that had an economic impact of €832m in the year 2019-2020, and placed the University Clinic among the five most socially-responsible Spanish companies.
Over the course of her career, Dolors has worked in all health fields: in public administration, as the Head of Press at the Health Department of the Regional Government of Catalonia; she witnessed the birth and growth of the large hospital groups (USP Hospitales and Grupo Hospitalario Quirón) and experienced, on the front line, the first big merger in the private hospital sector in Spain. She also has experience in consultancy (communication actions) and in multinationals in the sector (pharma, medical technology and hospital groups), like Fresenius. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Science from the University of Navarre and a Post-graduate in Corporate Communication from Pompeu Fabra University.
Director
Cristina began her career at Cambio 16 and has worked for various local and regional newspapers for 25 years. She spent the last 18 of those years at Prensa Española y Vocento, where she was Editorial Coordinator for Regional Media and National Media. She has worked directly with editors, deputy editors and contributors for the main regional daily newspapers and ABC, coordinating the exchange of information between them, the coverage of information concerning Vocento and the execution of marketing and institutional agreements.
Cristina has a Degree in Information Science from the Complutense University of Madrid.
Senior Consultant
Graduated in Journalism from the University of Navarra, she has a master’s degree in Digital Marketing from ESIC Business & Marketing School.
She began her professional career in the Diario de Navarra, in its paper edition, and for the last four years, she has been part of the Communication team of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, where she has been responsible for content focused on external communication, with the development of general and scientific notes as well as giving support in the relationship with media, and digital, with the updating of content and improving SEO and usability.
Senior Advisor for Food & Beverage
Pilar has worked mainly in the FMCG sector, especially in food and beverages.
She began her career at Canal Satélite Digital as Commercial and Marketing Director at Canal C: From there she joined Diageo in 2002 as Brand PR Manager of brands such as J&B, Cacique, Johnnie Walker and over 12 years she played different roles and achievements such as the development of a pioneering CSR agenda and Responsible Consumption of alcohol in the Spirits industry in Spain, Corporate Communications Management until reaching her last stage as Director of Corporate Affairs in Spain and Portugal integrating all the functions of External and Internal Communications, Sustainability and Public Affairs.
In June 2015 and after the fire in the most important factory, Pilar joined Campofrío Food Group as Director of External Communication and Institutional Relations in Europe, leading the Communication and Public Affairs strategy.
Pilar managed the crisis of the fire in its main factory and the recovery plan until the reconstruction and incorporation of its workers to the new factory, as well as the institutional visits and the inauguration of H.M. The King.
In addition, he set up a system for listening and immediate management of issues in Europe to avoid communication crises.
Finally, during her time at Campofrío Food Group, she has led different award-winning projects in communication in earned media for the Campofrío and Pavofrío brands, among others the Deliciosa Calma campaign or last Christmas, La tienda LOL and a European communication project called “Trust & Transparency” aimed at transparency in its value chain.
Arantxa began her career at Amena 20 years ago and is a marketing specialist with experience at companies including Grupo Zena, The Body Shop and Bankia, where she formed part of the digital team. She has worked at Digital Marketing Agencies with clients in various sectors, such as Tinsa, FotoPrix, Unoentrecienmil, CICE, Metlife and Clínica Imema. Arantxa is part of the Google Partners programme.
She has a Degree in Business Administration from the University of the Basque Country.