Mariano Barroso assumes the Honorary Presidency of the entity, now under command of the technological entrepreneur Vito Epíscopo, representing the Trevenque Group.
The Smart City Cluster, the association that represents the Spanish smart city industry and whose headquarters are in Malaga TechPark, has recently appointed the new board of directors that will govern the entity for at least the next four years.
Tras agotar su mandato la directiva saliente, conforme a los estatutos de la entidad, los nuevos miembros han tomado posesión de sus cargos en un encuentro, celebrado en el marco del Foro Transfiere, que ha contado con el apoyo de numerosas autoridades desde los niveles locales hasta el europeo y en el que se dio cita una nutrida representación de la empresa privada.
After the expiration of the board of directors’ term and according to the entity regulation, the new members occupied their positions in this appointment that took place in the Transfiere Forum. This, in turn, had the support of several authorities going from local to European levels and private companies had a considerable representation.
New board of directors
The new management team will be led by Vito Epíscopo Solís, a technology entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience representing the Trevenque Group in business organisations. The new president of the Cluster expressed his “pride and responsibility” and pointed out: “My career has taught me that technology is one of the main vectors that allow cities to be smarter and to achieve their main goal: improving the quality of life of their citizens”.
The Vice-Presidency continues to be held by José Ángel Narváez, Rector of the University of Malaga. The General Secretary, Martín Carrillo, and the Treasurer, Juan Ramón Cuadros, also remain in their posts.
The other members are Endesa, Telefónica, Iberdrola, AENOR, Málaga Tech Park, SIFDI, HRCS, Cibernos, TOP Digital, Neuromobile Marketing and CITD Engineering Technologies. All sectors and sizes of associates present in the entity are represented in this new board.
A key moment to the sector
The change in the presidency comes at a key moment for the sector given the existence of a significant amount of European funds aimed at transforming Spanish cities, allowing a much more efficient management of their resources, both human and economic.
In this sense, the Cluster has recently been the beneficiary of seven innovation projects awarded by the Ministry of Industry, involving grants of more than 1.2 million euros for 16 entities that applied in consortium with the association.
President of honour
In an emotional ceremony held at the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos de Málaga, the members of the Cluster gathered to pay tribute to the outgoing president, Mariano Barroso Flores, who left the presidency after eight years of successful management. Accompanied by the Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, who did not want to miss the event, Barroso became Honorary President of the association, from where he will continue to support the entity of which he was one of the founders in 2014 and president of the employers’ association of renewable energies.
About the Smart City Cluster
The Spanish Smart Cities Industry Cluster is an alliance of companies and institutions working on the development of smart cities, understood as efficient, sustainable and comfortable, through the cooperation of the associated entities. These include private companies, universities and sectoral organisations, among other entities not only in the field of business but also in research, development and innovation.
The projects addressed by the Smart City Cluster aim to generate employment and wealth in the cities themselves by improving business competitiveness, promoting business opportunities and creating new markets, products and services.
The Smart City Cluster works on the development of projects that improve the habitability, comfort and quality of life of the citizens of any urban area, regardless of its size, through innovation projects, with the aim of building better cities, with a higher degree of environmental sustainability and more efficient management of resources.
The multi-sectoral, integrating and cooperative nature of the Smart City Cluster brings together entities from different fields that operate in favour of cities, such as energy, environment, urban infrastructures, information and communication technologies, urban mobility or citizen administration.
The cluster is a member of the Advisory Council of the Intelligent Cities Challenge of the European Commission. It is recognised by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade as an Innovative Business Group (AEI) and as a member of the Network of Intelligent Tourist Destinations. It is recognised by the Ministry of Trade as an Exporters Association and holds the Secretariat of the National Federation of Clusters.