Featured In diginomica · International Digital Armada
Spain is exporting a new wave of CTOs. You can commission one.
Former CTIO & Chief Product Officer, Hotelbeds Group (HBX) · Operator in Cinven, CPPIB & Platinum Equity portfolios · CIO of the Year — CIONET 2018
diginomica profiled the Spanish technology leaders now running banks, travel platforms and telcos across Europe — and built the story around Álvaro de Nicolás. This is what it looks like to bring that operator into your business as a fractional or interim CTO/CIO.
€8B+
Platform revenue enabled
3 countries
France · Spain · UK delivery
< 2 wk
Time to deploy
As Featured In · diginomica
“Spain’s international digital armada” — and the operator behind the headline
diginomica profiled the new generation of Spanish technology leaders taking the helm of banks, travel platforms and telcos across Europe. Álvaro de Nicolás is the CIO it built the story around.
“Spain is getting French, Italian, British, and US CIOs coming to Spain for our services, but also to lead technology in Spanish companies, and that is healthy for everyone.”
What that means when you bring him in
The armada, deployed for you
The piece describes a wave of Spanish technology leaders running banks, travel platforms and telcos across Europe. Álvaro is one of them — France, Spain and the UK; BT, Hotelbeds, Lloyds — now available to your business as a fractional or interim CTO/CIO within two weeks.
Operator instincts, not advice from the deck
The article's thesis is leaders forged by actually shipping at scale. That is the offer: €8B+ of platform revenue enabled, real carve-outs and a 1,400-app regulated cloud migration — judgement grounded in delivery, not slideware.
People-first execution that still hits the number
He credits a people-centred, adaptable leadership style for the flexibility that wins. You get that same style pointed at your AI ambition, platform modernisation or post-merger integration — momentum without the political drag.
What I Do
From AI Ambition to Operating Reality
Clear scope. Defined timeline. Measurable outcomes.
AI Strategy → Operating Reality
Move AI out of scattered pilots and into measurable P&L — a 30/60/90 plan with SDLC guardrails and a value case, deployed within two weeks. The same operator instinct the feature describes, pointed at your roadmap.
Carve-Out & Post-Merger Integration
Separations and integrations executed under PE timelines — Hotelbeds out of TUI, Awaze out of its parent. Continuity protected, TSA costs removed, value defended through the deal window.
Platform & Cloud Modernisation
The foundation growth and AI actually need: cloud-native migration at regulated scale, cost take-out and an operating model that can carry what comes next — €8B+ of platform revenue says it works.
I also work with Revamp Advisors, a boutique advisory company alongside other high-profile ex-CIOs.
The Operator Behind the Headline
Press credibility, backed by a verifiable track record
The feature is the introduction. The proof is a board-level career delivered across travel, banking, media and telecoms — every claim attributable, not aggregated.
CTIO & CPO
Hotelbeds Group (HBX)
CIO of the Year
CIONET 2018
Cinven · CPPIB
Operated in PE portfolios
2 carve-outs
€32M managed · PE-backed
1,400 apps
Migrated to GCP / Azure
1B req/day
Run in production at scale
Non-Executive Director
A board-ready technology NED who can challenge and govern AI, cyber, platform and transformation risk — and translate it out of the jargon so the rest of the board can hold management to account.
Interim CTO / CIO
Senior technology leadership to cover a gap, lead a transformation or stabilise delivery — deployed within two weeks, with the enterprise and PE scale most fractional profiles can't evidence.
Board & Transformation Advisory
Advisory NED and board-advisor mandates: AI governance, technology due diligence, operating-model redesign and carve-out execution — proven across €8B+ of platform revenue, not theorised.
Engagement Models
Three Ways to Work Together
Fractional / Interim Executive
Part-time or full-time technology leadership for 3–9 months.
Advisory Project
Focused 4–12 week engagement with defined scope and deliverables.
Leadership Coaching
One-to-one coaching for technology leaders navigating transformation.
For Boards & C-Suite Leaders
The Operator's Briefing
A private quarterly communiqué on enterprise AI governance, agentic delivery, and the value-creation levers behind real transformation — curated for board members and operators. Not a newsletter.