About us

Silvana Churruca

CEO

Specialist in Cognitive Systems and Media from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF); Specialist in Theory of Communal Design and Esp. In Strategic Management of Design from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). Silvana is the CEO of the Payment Innovation Hub, a JV founded by CaixaBank, Global Payments, Visa, Samsung and Arval with the purpose of boosting R + D + i projects that bring the best and most innovative experiences in payment methods to society. Previously, she managed the CaixaBank Payments Customer Experience team. With a strong multidisciplinary background, Silvana is an expert in the areas of Customer Experience, UX and UX Research, where she has been working for more than 15 years.

Silvia García Méndez

Communication and Marketing Strategist

Degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Barcelona. Master’s in Marketing Management and Commercial Management from ESIC. Training in Human-centered design of Acumen and Ideo. She has extensive experience in strategic consulting in the field of innovation, digital communication and events production. She has developed her professional career at Cink as a senior consultant with top-level clients and has led projects in digital innovation, communication and digital transformation. Project management skills, great interest in digital marketing and passion for new technologies, the entrepreneurial spirit of startups, creativity and open innovation. She is a lecturer at La Salle Barcelona, ​​teaching sessions on New Product Development and Design Thinking.

Ada Cervera

User Experience Research Specialist

Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Postgraduate in Marketing from UPF and Executive Master’s in Marketing from EADA. More than 15 years of experience in market research at a national and international level from a client and consulting point of view and additional experience in innovative and UX research methodologies in recent years, doing co-creations, ideation and creative workshops on several industries providing a 360º process view (insights and strategy).

Pilar López Pérez

Project Manager

Specialist in management of projects in innovation, marketing and communication. Master in Advertising and Business Communication and specialist in Digital Marketing and Customer Experience from ESIC - ICEMD. Currently Project Manager and supporting the area of communication through dialogue with partners, management of the project pipeline, planning and follow-up of solutions. In her trajectory as Key Account Manager she has worked with world-class clients, leading entrepreneurship projects, labs of innovation and marketing. In the field of communication she has been responsible in public institutions focused on institutional communication, strategic definition, implementation of marketing initiatives and management of multidisciplinary events.

Toni Felguera Segador

CTO

Computer Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), Executive MBA from EADA, and Master's Degree in Innovation Management from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). For more than 25 years, he has dedicated his career to the innovative application of technology to the generation of business value, holding management positions - CIO/CTO - both on the client side (Viladomat Sports, EADA, CPM, Winparf) as well as on the provider side (Catalan Institute of Technology and Barcelona Digital Technological Center - currently Eurecat -). His dedication to technological innovation has been reflected in the creation of different startups (Viuing, Tartadictos) as well as in the writing of different papers, patents and international standards. He has led numerous innovation projects -some of them international European FP7 / H2020 projects- and actively collaborated with the European Commission as an evaluator of innovation projects. In the field of teaching and dissemination, he has been a visiting professor at different institutions and has participated in various conferences and presentations as an expert in technology innovation.

Cristina Araúz Lombardía

Innovation Project Manager

Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of Barcelona, Master's degree in Applied Mathematics, and Doctorate in Applied Mathematics, both from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Specializing in innovation project management and strategic consulting, she serves as a project manager, primarily focusing on projects related to new technologies and trends. Throughout her career as a strategist and innovation project leader, she has collaborated with renowned clients in various sectors, including food industry, energy, mobility, last-mile logistics, infrastructure management, and entrepreneurship, among others, and also in the public sector. Thanks to this experience, she has developed a cross-functional perspective that enables her to import knowledge and best practices from other industries. Previously, she worked as a pricing analyst in the travel industry.

Gerard Mayor Eixard

Finance & Legal Manager

Bachelor’s degree in economics from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from EAE Business School. Close to a decade in public administrations such as CELLS, CED and CREAF in accounting, human resources, project management and audit reports. Extensive experience in R+D public projects in regional (La Caixa Foundation, SGR), National (I+D) and European (H2020, Interreg Europe). He is currently in charge of executing reports and financial statements, partner budget and economic forecasts, tax review and control, in addition to other day-to-day tasks, such as supplier management, bank reconciliation, payroll and cash flow statements.

Guadalupe Scioscia

Office Manager

As a proactive, dynamic and multidisciplinary person, she has worked in sports coaching, language teaching and administration fields. Currently Office Manager where she oversees the internal functioning of the office, provides support to the finance department by performing administrative tasks and to the events organization at the workspace.