Forty years of executive leadership across five continents. Trusted advisor to global corporations, infrastructure funds and sovereign investment vehicles on strategy, transformation, diversification and cross-border structures.
From startup founder to CEO of a listed company; from country manager to president of a €6.4B European business — Roberto de Diego brings a rare combination of entrepreneurial instinct and large-scale execution discipline.
Roberto de Diego Arozamena is a bilingual (English/Spanish) executive with over four decades of international leadership across telecoms, energy, infrastructure, technology and manufacturing. He has lived and worked in Mexico, the United States, Spain and the UAE, with extended operational exposure across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
His career spans founding and scaling startups, restructuring loss-making divisions, leading multinational integrations, and serving as CEO of a publicly listed company on Spanish stock exchanges. He has managed organisations of up to 4,500 people and budgets exceeding €6.4 billion.
Today, through Alacran Advisory & Consulting FZE and DICA Consultores, he advises global corporations, infrastructure funds, private equity firms and family offices on strategy, international expansion, M&A, transformation and corporate governance. He was recently appointed Independent Board Member and Audit Committee member of ASISA Vida, the life insurance company of the ASISA Group.
He holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, MBA studies from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Board Governance training from IESE, and executive programmes at IMD Silicon Valley and The Economist Intelligence Unit (AI in Business).
+€91M EBITDA improvement (+73%) in 6 months leading BT Ignite Europe. +83% order entry growth year-on-year during simultaneous transformation across 6 countries.
Operations across 31 countries and 5 continents. Led the acquisition of FRV, creating the largest GCC-based solar developer with projects in 20 countries.
Deep expertise across telecoms, renewable energy, water infrastructure, technology, manufacturing and financial services — with transferable skills between sectors.
Current and former board member of multiple listed and private companies across Spain, Netherlands, UAE and internationally. IESE-trained in corporate governance.
Decades of frontline leadership — not theoretical models — inform every engagement. Advisory work that is direct, pragmatic and anchored in measurable outcomes.
Corporate strategy design, growth roadmaps, market entry and international expansion. Particular expertise advising conglomerates and funds on portfolio diversification across geographies and sectors. Supporting the alignment of business capabilities with strategic objectives and technical requirements.
End-to-end M&A advisory: target identification, due diligence support, deal structuring, negotiation and post-acquisition integration. Deep experience with cross-border joint ventures, international holding structures and investment vehicle design for funds and conglomerates.
Large-scale organisational transformation — from diagnosis through design, communication, execution and performance management. Proven methodology (Project Matador) piloted in BT Europe and deployed across 6 European countries, delivering +73% EBITDA in 6 months.
Geopolitical, regulatory, operational and financial risk evaluation for investment decisions and strategic planning. Extensive experience navigating regulated markets across telecoms, energy, water and financial services in Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
Opening doors and building commercially actionable relationships with corporations, governments and sovereign entities. Track record of presenting investment programmes at ministerial level across the GCC, Europe and Latin America. Technical alignment of business capabilities and client requirements.
Independent board member bringing strategic challenge, international perspective and governance rigour. Currently serving on the board and Audit Committee of ASISA Vida. Chairman of Netboss Comunicaciones. Available for select non-executive roles in aligned sectors.
A documented case of large-scale multinational transformation personally designed and led by Roberto — from mandate to measurable results in 8 months.
When British Telecom created BT Ignite to consolidate its €6.4 billion European corporate business across 9 countries and 4,500 people, Roberto, in addition to his role as President of Global Sales and Service, was appointed President of the European In-Country Business — reporting directly to the CEO of BT Ignite.
He designed and led Project Matador: a 9-step transformation methodology covering organisational redesign, incentive realignment, cultural integration and a two-phase communication roadshow across all entities. The new integrated structure went live on 2 April 2001 — 90 days from mandate. The transformation delivered +€91M EBITDA improvement (+73%) in 6 months and +83% order entry growth.
The sales compensation model he redesigned — weighting gross margin at 50%, new orders at 20%, revenue at 20% and customer satisfaction at 10% — was subsequently adopted across all of BT Group.
"Vision is worthless without a plan that can be executed in weeks, not quarters. Run the business while you transform it — there is no pause button."
Speaking and advising at major international conferences, summits and institutions across four decades.
On the GCC's renewable energy tipping point, subsidy reform, and ALJ Energy's strategy across 20 countries and 5 continents.
Read Article →Op-Ed on the strategic opportunity for the GCC to become a world leader in sustainable desalination and water infrastructure.
Read Article →
On the groundbreaking of two of the largest solar plants in Jordan — 133.4 MW DC supplying clean power at below-average grid cost.
Read Article →Writing regularly on strategy, geopolitics, energy transition, digital transformation, AI and governance — drawing on frontline experience across five continents.
Boards and investors need to treat water strategy with the same urgency as energy. Those who align the two will define the next wave of infrastructure leadership.
Read on LinkedIn →Data centers are the new utilities. AI workloads are reshaping energy policy. Digital transformation is a strategic priority tied directly to national competitiveness and resilience.
Read on LinkedIn →Supply chain fragility, regulatory risk and investment uncertainty require boards to embed scenario planning in strategy — not treat geopolitics as an afterthought.
Read on LinkedIn →Vision, communication, accountability, customer focus and culture — not financial engineering alone. 74% of transformation efforts fail because they underestimate these constants.
Read on LinkedIn →Global demand from data centers is expected to triple by 2030. This is a question of national competitiveness, risk management and long-term sustainability — not an IT issue.
Read on LinkedIn →Distinctive governance challenges — from Solvency Capital Requirements to DORA compliance. Independent directors bring critical external perspective to navigate this complexity.
Read on LinkedIn →Selected highlights from over four decades of executive roles across telecoms, energy, technology and infrastructure.
Independent Board Member and Audit Committee member. ASISA Vida is the life insurance company of the ASISA Group, one of Spain's leading private healthcare groups.
Chairman of the Board and shareholder. Software house with proprietary technology (Kairos365) specialising in distributed operations management. Key clients and partners: MasOrange, Orange Belgium, Hispasat, SICOR, NTT Data, Indra, Inetum, Accenture and Optare Solutions.
Senior advisor on international strategy and expansion across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.
Advisory relationship with this major Swedish infrastructure and private equity fund on selective strategic matters.
Board member of the international solar developer and the water desalination developer across multiple country subsidiaries, both built and acquired under Roberto's leadership at Abdul Latif Jameel Group.
Former board member of multiple listed and private technology and telecom companies across Spain, Belgium and Ireland.
Speaker and panellist at major international conferences in energy, telecoms and investment, and guest lecturer at leading universities.
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia • 2017
Marrakech, Morocco
Paris, France • 2016
Panama City • April 2019
Mexico City • 2017
Dubai, UAE • 2017
Dubai, UAE • October 2018
Madrid, Spain • February 2026
Guest speaker on the Telecoms Master's Programme at IE University, and at Universidad Europea del Atlántico and Universidad de Cantabria for postgraduate students.
Roberto engages with a select number of advisory clients at any one time. Please reach out directly by email or phone.
