OUR CREW

OUR CREW

AT THE HELM • OUR SAILORS

AT THE RUDDER

It was on a long weekend in May 2015, next to the sea in Santander that saw them born, when Lucía Casanueva and Valvanuz Serna decided to unite their vision, experience and skills to turn PROA Comunicación into the trusted consultancy for companies and associations from different sectors of activity.

PROA Comunicación was born with the conviction that there was a need in the market for a new standard of high performance communication consulting, based on rigor, excellence and experience.

Lucía Casanueva

Managing Partner

Valvanuz Serna Ruiz

Managing Partner

NAVI
GATORS

Our expert senior sailors design and execute projects tailored to each challenge.

We bring on board the best senior professionals in communication, journalism, marketing, audiovisual projects and graphic design according to the specific needs of each project.

NAVI
GATORS

Ana Heras

Head of Human Resources

Ben Kendall

Creative Director

Mercedes_Asorey

Mercedes Asorey

Litigation Director

Dolors Marco

Pharma and Medical Technology Director

Julia Montoro

Director

Cristina García

Account Director

Ricardo Cuevas

Account Director

Alberto Mendoza

Account Director

Gema Peribáñez

Account Director
María González
Consultant

Pilar Larrea

Senior Advisor for Food & Beverage

Arantxa Reinares

Head of Digital Marketing

Lucía Casanueva PROA Comunicación

Lucía Casanueva

Managing Partner

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), as well as German studies at the University of Vienna. 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 PROA Comunicación

Valvanuz Serna Ruiz

Managing Partner
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.
Consultores de comunicación corporativa y empresarial: Ana Gómez.

Ana Gómez

Galicia Manager

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.

Mercedes Soler-Lluró

Catalonia Manager
Degree in Information Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and degree in Art History from the University of Barcelona. Dr.MK by ESMA. Professional with 25 years of experience advising FMCG companies such as GMFOOD IBerica, Medcomtech, Unilever, Conecta 2, and various sectors such as health and insurance, designing and implementing the 60th anniversary of Divina Pastora Seguros, and managing the communication of the Baselga oncology center. Among the successful cases she has led are the design and strategy of the centenary of the Palau de la Música, the press office and inauguration of Port Aventura, the crisis management of the industrial accident related to Habitat Inmobiliaria, among others. She is an expert in the communication of art and architecture, working for the Mies Van der Rohe Foundation and for architects such as José Luis Mateo, Juan Trias de Bes and Esteban Terradas. Mercedes Soler-Lluró began her professional career at the Grey Trace agency, and after Ulled y Asociados she founded Imagen y Comunicación Empresarial in 1997.
Consultores de comunicación corporativa y empresarial: Pablo de Villota.

Pablo de Villota

Head of Sports Sponsorship Management

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.

Consultores de comunicación corporativa y empresarial: Yago de la Cierva.

Yago de la Cierva

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.

Ana Heras

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.

Consultores de comunicación corporativa y empresarial: Ben Kendall.

Ben Kendall

Creative Director

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

Pharma and Medical Technology Director

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.

Julia Montoro

Director

Julia specializes in Corporate Communications. Before joining PROA, she was responsible for global branding at the communications consulting firm LLYC, where she developed 18 years of her professional career, first with clients such as Asociación Empresarial del Tabaco, Paradores, Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo and Pepsico, among others, and then in Corporate General Management alongside its president. Julia holds an Executive MBA and has completed a Minor in Leadership and Personal and Organizational Behavior, as well as a Speed Program in Digital Transformation and People Analytics, all at EAE Business School. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Corporate Communication and Advertising and a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the Complutense University of Madrid.
Consultores de comunicación corporativa y empresarial: Cristina García.

Cristina García

Account 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.

Ricardo Cuevas

Account Director
Ricardo Cuevas is account director at PROA and specializes in corporate and B2B communications. Before joining PROA, he was a senior consultant at Hotwire, where he spent eleven years of his professional career with important clients in the technology and retail sectors. Previously, he also worked in corporate communications for Asesores agency, as assistant to DIRCOM at Banif (former private banking subsidiary of the Santander Group) and in public affairs at Ketchum – Lenci Public Affairs (now Omnicom Public Affairs). He has a Master's Degree in Political and Corporate Communication from the University of Navarra and an Executive Master's Degree in Marketing and Sales from ESADE. He has also completed a digital business program at Santa Clara University Leavy School of Business and a political management program at The George Washington University. In addition, he has a degree in journalism by CEU San Pablo University.

Alberto Mendoza

Account Director
Alberto Mendoza is a journalist and communication consultant. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid, where he also specialized in international information and took a Master’s Degree in Media Policy. He has a Post-graduate in Campaign Management from Pontificia Comillas University. For the last 15 years, he has developed his career in the media, at agencies and institutions in Spain and Latin America. He began his career as a journalist at the daily El Confidencial, followed by stints in institutional and corporate communication in Mexico and Central America. He worked at the office of the consultancy firm LLYC, has been Assistant Director of Image and Promotion of the Public System of Radio Broadcasting of Mexico and a communication adviser at the National Electoral Institute, also in Mexico, as well as undertaking different campaigns as an independent consultant.
Gema Peribañez

Gema Peribáñez

Account Director
Gema has extensive professional experience in communications in public and private institutions, as well as business associations (Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food, Justice Office of the Community of Madrid and the CEIM Business Confederation of Madrid-CEOE). She has worked in different media and holds a degree in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid.
María González

María González

Consultant
Graduated with a master’s degree in Corporate, Institutional and Political Communication from Carlos III University in Madrid. She jumped into the world of communication by the hand of Atrevia agency, where she improved her skills in writing, analysis, media relations and strategy, planning and execution, among others. She is a specialist in social networks and digital content, in addition, she has a Branding Expert course that has equipped her with the key tools for creation and positioning of any brand or entity.
Pilar Larrea | Senior Advisor for Food & Beverage PROA

Pilar Larrea

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.

Consultores de comunicación corporativa y empresarial: Arantxa Reina

Arantxa Reinares

Head of Digital Marketing

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.