
This is Pilar Gil, who is strengthened by her supporter Oughourlian on PRISA's board.
Oughourlian promotes his close friend Pilar Gil as the financial and editorial axis of the group amid tension with Moncloa
One of the names that emerges stronger from the recent general shareholders' meeting of PRISA, held this Wednesday, is Pilar Gil.Considered the right hand of Joseph Oughourlian not only in the media group but also in Real Zaragoza, where both share strategic responsibilities. Now, Gil consolidates herself as one of the key figures in the new cycle opening in the company.
Her role will be essential in the management that Oughourlian has just secured. Both in the financial aspect and in the executive and editorial direction of the group.
Gil's consolidation at the top of PRISA coincides with a critical moment. The company, publisher of El País and Cadena SER, is immersed in tensions with President Pedro Sánchez's Government and faces the challenge of reducing a hefty debt. Factors that give the new management a key role in the business and editorial strategy of the group.
With a degree in Economics and Business Administration from ICADE and executive training (PDD) at IESE, Pilar Gil began her professional career in banking and auditing. She worked at Chase Manhattan Bank, specializing in international markets, and later at Arthur Andersen as a business auditor.

Her leap to Grupo PRISA occurred in 2000, when she was hired to lead the company's IPO. Since then, she has participated in all the group's financial milestones, getting involved in refinancing, capital increases, and the development of the current strategic plan. She also led PRISA's first Capital Markets Day, reflecting her market and investor-oriented approach.
After two decades in the company, her opportunity came through her great friend Joseph Oughourlian, PRISA's largest shareholder through the Amber Capital fund. In May 2021, Oughourlian—having just assumed the position of president after Javier Monzón's departure—appointed her chief of staff and head of investor relations.
From there, the Madrid economist climbed the ranks. In 2022, she was promoted to the group's chief financial officer, a position from which she was responsible for "taming the publisher's million-dollar debt".
In February 2023, she joined the board of directors as an executive director, and in June of that year, she was elected vice president of the board. This rapid progression in key positions demonstrates to many the trust and closeness that Oughourlian places in her.
Gil's role in PRISA's plan
Currently, Pilar Gil adds to her financial functions the executive management of PRISA's two main divisions. After Carlos Núñez's resignation as CEO of PRISA Media last February, Gil temporarily took the reins of the media division.
At the same time, she was appointed CEO of the newspaper 'El País'. A newly created position with which Oughourlian seeks to have direct control over the group's flagship publication. Thus, El País ceased to be overseen by José Miguel Contreras—a television producer close to the PSOE. A figure who until then influenced the newspaper's editorial direction on behalf of Moncloa, according to company sources.

The centralization of executive power in Pilar Gil marks the end of the dual leadership in PRISA (there was a CEO for media and another for education). It also strengthens a unified leadership under Oughourlian's orbit.
According to knowledgeable sources cited by The Objective, the non-executive president sought with this decision "to ensure a control core within the board... to face the rebels aligned with the Government who want to remove him from the company".
Pilar Gil, between finance and Oughourlian's trust
Within PRISA, Pilar Gil is recognized for her deep knowledge of the group and her focus on financial stability. She herself has pointed out that having started "from the bottom" in the company allowed her to thoroughly know the "insides" of the company.
In fact, reducing financial leverage has been her great recent mission. A mission still incomplete but progressing. PRISA carries about 700 million euros of debt, although it managed to cut its losses to 11.6 million in 2024 (64% less than the previous year). The financial burden continues to suffocate the group.
To address it, the company is preparing a new three-year strategic plan, in which the "economist and friend" Pilar Gil will be a key piece. Under her financial leadership, the operational improvement is expected to be consolidated without giving up strategic investments.
Gil's management style is characterized by prudence in investment and the pursuit of efficiency, aligned with Oughourlian's vision. Both share the conviction that PRISA must strengthen its core businesses (press, radio, and education) before embarking on costly ventures.

This harmony was evident in the recent controversy over the launch of a new television channel promoted from Moncloa. Gil supported Oughourlian's refusal to invest in this project, warning the board of directors of the financial "risk" that entering traditional television would pose for the company.
"Investing in 2025 in a DTT channel doesn't seem like a future project to me... it's too late," Oughourlian stated in an interview. All while explaining why PRISA declined to bid for the television license the Government was preparing.
Pilar Gil shares this thesis with him and acted as his right hand in that debate, halting a plan they considered reckless given the group's red numbers. This professional and strategic closeness has earned Gil the reputation of being the most trusted person of PRISA's president.
Not surprisingly, Oughourlian has repeatedly promoted her and even entrusted her in 2024 with an unusual extramedia task. She was appointed director of Real Zaragoza soccer club, where the French investor holds a stake. Another sign of the close friendship that unites them inside and outside the offices.
The standoff with the Government
Pilar Gil's rise coincides with a moment of internal turmoil and redefinition of the editorial direction at PRISA. Her financial and executive leadership is part of Joseph Oughourlian's absolute "takeover" of the group, a move that has caused tensions with part of the board of directors and, especially, with the environment of President Pedro Sánchez's Government.
In this context of standoff between Moncloa and PRISA, Pilar Gil's role also acquires an editorial and symbolic dimension. On one hand, her appointment seeks to strengthen the independence of the newspaper El País and Cadena SER against external interference.

Oughourlian, upon assuming the presidency of El País with Gil as CEO, proclaimed that "it is more necessary than ever" to keep the founding values of the newspaper and its "staunch defense of quality journalism, despite pressures of all kinds".
Sources close to the situation suggest that PRISA's leadership is betting on distancing itself from political power and regaining credibility by reinforcing an independent editorial line. In fact, Oughourlian himself published an op-ed in El País in March warning that, 50 years after Franco's death, it would be "unacceptable" to fall into the temptation of someone from power trying to "take over an independent media outlet" using state means. Although he did not directly mention President Pedro Sánchez, the message was understood as a direct reproach to the Government.
The challenges of Pilar Gil
Pilar Gil's arrival at the financial and executive direction of PRISA is valued by analysts as a commitment to professionalism and stability in a moment of uncertainty. Her technical-financial profile brings rigor in debt management and investor relations, crucial aspects given that the markets have closely followed the shareholder "war" in the group.
Under her management, PRISA plans to continue improving its operational results and could undertake divestments or alliances to alleviate liabilities, without losing sight of the digital transformation demanded by the sector. Gil has already shown a firm hand by prioritizing sustainable projects: the cancellation of the projected TV channel saved PRISA an initial expense of 20 million euros amid advertising uncertainty. A decision applauded by shareholders more concerned with profitability.

Internally, the new chief financial officer will also have to manage the cohesion of a company shaken by power struggles. Her rise, closely linked to Oughourlian, generates unease in some traditional sectors of PRISA and among representatives of the "pro-government" wing of the shareholders.
Nevertheless, at the last shareholders' meeting, Gil received an almost unanimous endorsement. She was also the only executive with a salary increase (15% more) in 2024. A sign of Amber Capital's support and confidence in her work, although this increase caused minor disagreements on the board. At 52, Pilar Gil combines undisputed loyalty to the one who controls 30% of PRISA with the task of convincing the rest of the shareholders that her management will benefit the whole.
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