NETCOM Research Group

Pablo Rodríguez Rodríguez, a member of the Scientific Council of IMDEA Networks, has recently been appointed CEO of Telefonica Innovation Alpha. Telefonica Innovation Alpha is a newly created lab launched to explore future disruptive technology and undertake long-term research and innovation.

Pablo Rodríguez has taken up a new position as CEO of Telefonica Innovation Alpha, an innovation unit within the global Telefonica organization dedicated to so-called ‘moonshot’ projects, that is, future, ambitious long-term technological developments that will have a major social impact, propose radical solutions and lead to breakthroughs in innovative technologies. Thus, Telefonica Alpha will continue to explore and advance in the field of Information Technologies, but with a decided focus on selected ground-breaking areas.

With over 15 years’ experience, latest in the role of Research Director at Telefónica R&D, and previously both as Founder and Director of the Telefónica R&D laboratory in Barcelona, Spain, the choice of Pablo Rodriguez as CEO for the newly established Telefónica Alpha is an optimal one.

Before entering Telefónica, Rodriguez worked directly with several Silicon Valley startups (among others Inktomi, the world’s second largest search engine right after Google; and Tahoe Networks, creators of the first routers for mobile networks). Furthermore, he has worked for important global companies such as Microsoft and Bell-Labs. Rodriguez also worked as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University of New York City, USA.

Pablo Rodriguez obtained his PhD in Computer Science from the Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Switzerland. He has authored more than 150 publications and holds 30 patents. He has been awarded a number of prestigious awards, among others the Telefonica Bravo award for best innovation practices, and the “Prix de la Recherche” for innovation excellence. He is an ACM Fellow and an IEEE Fellow. Currently his main research interest are related to privacy and personal data.

About Telefonica Innovation Alpha

Telefonica Innovation Alpha will bring even more collaboration opportunities in its wake, as well as strengthen existing relationships. The idea is to bring together multidisciplinary teams to experiment and make sure that its research ends up into people´s hands. Among others, Telefónica Innovation Alpha will include Post-docs, Academic Visitors, Entrepreneurs in residence, and PhD Students, and additionally it plans to enter into partnerships with other companies and institutions to drive advances forward in a meaningful way. 

The existing Telefonica Research team under R&D will continue to operate as usual, helping Telefonica solve important existing technology problems and advancing the research state of the art.