The Mobile organization announced a few days ago through a statement that John Hoffman is stepping down as CEO of the GSMA to take on the role of chairman of the company responsible for the most important congress in Barcelona starting July 1. After 20 years in the position, the step aside has raised some suspicions that Hoffman himself wants to clarify from his home in the United States.
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Are you retiring?
No!
Then?
Over the past few years, we have been preparing a natural evolution in which I step away from the day-to-day to focus on strategic relationships, maintaining and strengthening the ties we have in Barcelona, as well as in China, where I have worked a lot and will continue to be present, and in the Middle East, which we want to continue developing after starting in Doha last year.
I step away from the day-to-day to take care of existing strategic relationships and build new ones”
John Hoffman
So, will you continue to be the visible face of the congress in Barcelona?
Yes. Whether they want to or not, they will have to keep putting up with me. That doesn’t change. In fact, the goal is that I can devote even more attention to it and even spend more time in Barcelona. I will maintain existing relationships, take care of them, and also build new ones. I will have the opportunity to focus on what I call the fun stuff.
Were you struggling with too many fronts open?
Yesterday I was sending messages to my colleagues at eleven at night about a program we have in Mexico City. Is everything ready? Are the hotels okay? Does the setup meet the schedule? It’s not that I don’t enjoy all this, I love it!, but it requires a lot of energy and dedication, and the time has come to pass some of that responsibility to Sianne Ryder, Bob Puglielli, and, in the case of Spain, Laia Ripoll. They have all worked and will continue working on the MWC in Barcelona; they are the dream team.
The new CEO is Sianne Ryder, an internal replacement. Why was she chosen?
There are many valuable people on the team, but Sianne has a very solid profile. She has been with us for over 20 years and has worked on all our events. She comes from the operational field, has been in the commercial area, and has leadership and management experience. Don’t tell her, but her succession has been in our planning for years. She was identified years ago as a person with high potential, and it was only a matter of time before she took on part of my duties.
And why now and not at another time?
I had planned to do it last summer, but Matt Gransryd left the GSMA general management a year ago, and Vivek Badrinath joined. We then decided that I would continue leading everything for one more year, and now the right time has come.
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You and the congress have been coming to Barcelona every year for 20 years. Can you imagine the MWC here for 20 more years?
Yes, why not? The event has exceeded all expectations in relevance, longevity, and scale, and there is no reason why it shouldn’t continue doing so if we keep doing things well: being relevant, innovating, and maintaining a platform where the entire ecosystem meets. As long as we keep freshness, relevance, and control costs, the future is promising.
In these two decades, the congress has overcome the pandemic halt, political instability in Catalonia, transport strikes… Are you bored now that there is no conflict?
No, it’s never boring! All that is part of what makes this story exciting. Sometimes, maybe too much, like COVID, but we always find a way to move forward. And we do it together. During the pandemic, we coined the expression “committed community.” We are a small organization, and without the community of partners, we would not have survived: the institutions, the commercial partners, the Fira… It’s something the GSMA could not do alone.
Changes in the Mobile World Capital
The movements in the Mobile organization’s hierarchy have occurred almost simultaneously with Francesc Fajula’s departure from the Mobile World Capital. Hoffman emphasizes that “it is a total coincidence, with no connection” to the GSMA changes. The former general director of the public-private foundation that tries to leave a legacy throughout the year in Barcelona has taken over the management of the first AI gigafactory in Spain, as La Vanguardia reported in March. “His departure hurts, I won’t deny it, because he is a great leader, a good person, and has done incredible things, but I would have made the same decision in his place,” Hoffman confesses. According to the new GSMA chairman, the different parties involved in the foundation (Spanish Government, Generalitat, and City Council) are already looking for his replacement. Next month, a board meeting will be held where they hope to appoint the new head.
Taking charge of MWC relations involves talking to numerous administrations. In the past, also with opposing interests. Do you feel more loved by everyone now?
Once I counted all the administrations we work with, and there are many, with different parties, different affinities, and different philosophies. We don’t always agree on everything, but we always find a way to agree so that the MWC is a success.
You say you will focus on Barcelona’s relationships, but also in Shanghai and Doha. Can these new events overshadow the one here?
Barcelona sets our global agenda, concentrates the largest number of executives, participants, and companies, and is our flagship event. Being in the first quarter of the year, it sets the course for everything that comes after. The others have a more regional focus. Barcelona is the only major global event we have.
How did the flight restrictions resulting from the Middle East conflict affect the last edition of the MWC?
If I had hair, I would have lost it. It’s hard to quantify exactly, but we estimate that about 5,000 people could not arrive. It hurt us, yes. The exhibitor base was not affected because most had already left when hostilities broke out. Where we noticed it most was in the ministerial program. Government delegations from Asian countries, China, and the Middle East could not come.
In the next edition, you will not yet have the Zero pavilion to gain space. You will have to wait until 2028, so will the 2027 MWC be a transition?
2027 will be complicated, but difficulties generate innovation. It’s like a puzzle that needs to be solved. We will build more two-story structures, which are expensive but allow us to take advantage of verticality. When we have Hall Zero, we can grow horizontally again. In June, I will go to visit the works.
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