Cristina Alba Ochoa takes the helm at Pronovias Group as CEO
Commenting on her new role as the CEO of Pronovias, Alba Ochoa said, 'As a Catalan, I am proud to join such an iconic Catalan brand.' She added a personal connection to the role: 'My mother was a seamstress for bridal fashion brands, so I know the sector.' Regarding the group, she commented, 'Over more than 100 years, Pronovias has built an unparalleled reputation in the luxury sector and a world-renowned legacy in bridal and occasion wear. I am delighted to be a part of it.'
'The Pronovias brand is synonymous with craftsmanship and style in bridal design,' said Gianni Serazzi, chairman of Pronovias Group. 'We are confident that Cristina will further consolidate the company's prestigious reputation and strengthen the group's leadership. She will work closely with our talented executive teams and employees to write the next chapter of Pronovias.'
Regarding the former CEO, Serazzi added, 'We would like to express our gratitude to Calabia for his valuable contribution to the consolidation of Pronovias. His work has been fundamental in laying the organisational, brand, and product foundations for the group's new era. We wish him all the best in his new projects.'
Alba Ochoa holds a double degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and a Master's degree in Finance and Banking from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Barcelona. She joins Pronovias Group from Metro Bank, a British financial institution where she has worked since January 2024, first as interim chief financial officer and later as a member of its board of directors.
Prior to these roles, Alba Ochoa spent over 17 years (from 1999 to 2017) at General Electric, holding various positions of responsibility. She then joined the British digital financial institution Oak North Bank as chief financial officer and board member between 2017 and 2021.
Subsequently, she held various positions in finance and investment firms. She served as interim chief executive officer and member of the advisory board of the Spanish investment company Atitlan Group, where she remains a board member. In April 2024, she joined the board of directors of DoValue, an Italian company specialising in the management of financial and real estate assets, where she also remains a board member. Finally, she joined the management and board of Metro Bank, from which she has now moved to the executive management and board of directors of Pronovias.
In summary Cristina Alba Ochoa has been appointed the new global CEO of Pronovias Group, replacing Marc Calabia.
Alba Ochoa brings a solid track record of over 30 years in finance, corporate leadership, and team management, having worked at companies such as General Electric and Metro Bank.
Pronovias highlights Alba Ochoa's experience in transformation projects and is confident that she will consolidate the group's reputation and leadership worldwide. This article was translated to English using an AI tool.
FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@fashionunited.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Evening Standard
3 hours ago
- Evening Standard
Transfer news LIVE: Arsenal FC in Eze bid; Gyokeres medical; Isak to Liverpool twist; Chelsea eye Rogers; Man Utd
A summer window which has already seen one record-breaking deal is gearing up for another as Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United all continue to splash the cash ahead of the new Premier League season. Alexander Isak has told Newcastle he wants to leave, and Liverpool are his most likely destination - but he will cost far more than the British record £116million already spent on Florian Wirtz this summer. Benjamin Sesko could replace Isak.
Metro
4 hours ago
- Metro
Full list of 156 banks shutting after Lloyds and Halifax confirm new closures
The UK's high streets are set to become even more desolate this year, as hundreds more banks are closing their doors for good. The number of bank branches across the UK has dwindled gradually in recent years as customers increasingly turn to online and mobile banking. In fact, figures from last December showed 6,214 bank branches have shut since January 2015 – around 53 every single month. While hundreds of branches have closed this year already, there are more in the pipeline over the coming months. NatWest has confirmed 54 further branch closures, followed by Santander with 42 sites. Many people, such as older or disabled customers or small business owners, rely on local bank branches. The issue is compounded for those in rural areas, which may have poor broadband or mobile phone signal, making it difficult to access internet banking. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says banks and building societies shutting down branches must ensure people in the local community can still access their money. Santander said previously that 93% of the UK population will still be within 10 miles of a branch even after the closures of more than a fifth of its branches. The banking giant said it has made the 'difficult decision' to close branches due to changing customer behaviour as most of its customers turn to online banking. A NatWest spokesperson told Metro that more than 80% of its current account holders use digital services, and over 97% of retail accounts are opened online. Banks need to open ATMs or open banking hubs at Post Offices if gaps are found. Basic banking services can be carried out at a Post Office otherwise. Sam Richardson, Which?'s deputy editor, highlighted the 'seismic' shift towards online banking evident in today's society. He said: 'The milestone of more than 6,000 bank closures in just nine years underscores the seismic shift that has taken place in terms of our banking habits and the character of the British high street.' Not every bank is closing branches, however. HSBC pledged last year that it would not announce any closures until at least 2026. Nationwide has gone a step further and promised it won't close any branches until at least 2028. And a spokesperson for Metro Bank told Metro that it wasn't planning to close any branches this year, and is in fact opening three new branches in Gateshead, Chester, and Salford. More Trending After a spate of closures this year, Barclays told Metro it has no plans to announce any further branch closures for the rest of 2025 or 2026. Here is the list of branch closures coming up this summer and autumn. Garstand, expected to be confirmed later Market Drayton, expected to be confirmed later Willerby, September 22 Abingdon, September 24 Birmingham (Acocks Green), September 16 Ashby-de-la-Zouch, expected to be confirmed later Bicester, September 30 Bridgwater, October 27 Bridport, October 29 Cardiff (Canton), September 16 Chippenham, October 15 Cirencester, September 17 Cromer, expected to be announced Cwmbran, September 1 Dorchester, October 22 Birmingham (Edgbaston), September 11 Ely, September 10 Evesham, expected to be confirmed later Bristol (Fishponds), September 4 Halesowen, September 3 Hinckley, September 17 Honiton, October 21 Launceston, expected to be confirmed later Luton (Leagrave), September 15 Leicester (Melton Road), September 2 Leighton Buzzard, October 28 Llangefni, September 4 Cardiff (Llanishen), September 11 Lowestoft, October 15 Melton Mowbray, September 29 Midsomer Norton, October 8 Mold, October 21 Neath, October 13 Newmarket (Suffolk), September 24 Northampton (Weston Favell Shopping Centre), September 15 Leicester (Oadby), September 10 Paignton, October 2 Portishead, expected to be confirmed later Rayleigh, September 2 Redditch, October 14 Ringwood, October 1 Romsey, October 13 Leamington Spa, October 1 Birmingham (Shirley), October 1 Birmingham (Smethwick), September 25 Stevenage, October 7 Stratford-upon-Avon, October 8 Sudbury, September 30 Torquay, expected to be confirmed later Trowbridge, October 16 Wellingborough, October 7 Wickford, September 18 Wisbech, September 1 Yate, September 25 Blyth, August 4 Brixton, August 11 Canvey Island, August 5 Colwyn Bay, July 24 Downpatrick, August 6 Edgware Road, August 12 Farnham, July 29 Finchley, August 6 Formby, August 11 Hawick, July 24 Hertford, July 29 Holywell, August 13 New Milton, July 28 Plympton, August 14 Pudsey, July 28 Ross-On-Wye, July 30 Rustington, August 5 Sidcup, August 11 St Neots, July 30 Stokesley, July 31 Surrey Quays, November 10 Whitley Bay, August 6 Willerby, August 13 Wimborne, August 4 A further 18 branches have been earmarked for closure and the date will be announced later. Barrow-in-Furness, September 10 Bexleyheath, October 23 Blackpool (South Shore), October 29 Brentwood, September 10 Bristol (Kingswood), October 8 Carmarthen, October 6 Castleford, September 8 Cirencester, September 25 Crewe, October 14 Derby, October 23 Eltham, October 29 Epsom, September 15 Erdington, September 24 Folkestone, October 9 Hayes (Hillingdon), October 6 Hexham, November 11 Hove, October 20 London Clapham Junction, September 23 Long Eaton, September 18 Mold, October 16 Nortwich, September 3 Rhyl, September 23 Richmond (Surrey), September 16 Skegness, September 3 Southport, October 7 Stevenage, October 23 Telford, October 22 Walkden, September 25 Wickford, November 10 Woolwich, October 1 Bolton, November 20 Manchester (Stretford), October 15 Biggleswade, November 5 Blandford Forum, November 10 Bristol Bishopsworth (Church Road), November 6 Bury, October 21 Chard, November 11 Coventry (Foleshill), November 4 Debden, November 12 Dunstable, November 4 East Grinstead, November 12 Feltham, November 4 Ferndown, November 17 Hexham, November 5 Hornchurch, September 11 Kidderminster, October 16 Leeds (Cross Gates), August 20 London Tooting, October 8 Manchester (Newton Heath), November 5 Plymstock, November 4 Pontardawe, November 20 Sheffield (Woodhouse), November 11 Shipston-on-Stour, November 11 Southall, October 15 Stoke-on-Trent (Trent), October 10 Walthamstow High Street, October 22 Edinburgh (Corstorphine), October 29 Moffat, November 19 Pitlochry, October 30 Thornhill, November 3 This article was first published on March 20, 2025 Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Full list of store closures in July 2025 from Poundland to New Look and River Island MORE: Banker sues Merrill Lynch after being sacked over cheating on pregnant wife MORE: Monzo fined £21,000,000 after customers claim to live at 10 Downing Street
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
Rachel Reeves challenges Cabinet to buy British
Rachel Reeves has challenged Cabinet ministers to do more to buy British as she seeks to boost flagging economic growth. The Chancellor and Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, sent out the message in a letter to the Cabinet. It urged ministers to use procurement contracts, which are in the Government's gift, to help generate jobs in the UK by supporting British companies. The intervention comes amid a consultation about whether rules can be changed to give the Government more freedom to give contracts to UK firms. Each year £400bn is spent in public sector procurement, meaning small changes in approach could have a significant impact. Ms Reeves is facing difficult economic circumstances in her Budget this autumn, with official growth forecasts halved for 2025. New tax rises appear increasingly inevitable given that pressure on the public finances has intensified and the Chancellor will not break her borrowing rules. Excerpts of the letter from Ms Reeves and Mr McFadden were shared with The Telegraph. The pair wrote: 'We want people around the UK to feel the full impact of government spending through investment in skills and high quality jobs. That's why we're going further to ensure public procurement expenditure boosts British industry, jobs, skills, productivity, and expands the supply side. 'Every department needs to be pulling this procurement lever to support economic growth and strengthen our economic security. It is possible to do this within our trade agreements, as other countries do.' They added: 'We are asking all Secretaries of State to satisfy themselves that your department, and arms length bodies, have the commercial capacity and capability to ensure the creation of British jobs, productivity enhancing opportunities, and skills are prioritised in every major contract.' They also told colleagues to 'set ambitious and stretching targets for increasing your procurement spend with SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) and social enterprises while stripping away requirements and processes that are barriers to these firms competing with established players'. At one point they wrote: 'Your commercial team is not a back office function – it is a strategic policy lever and must be a priority.' Ms McFadden was once Sir Tony Blair's political secretary and has emerged as a key confidant of Keir Starmer in recent years. As the most senior minister in the Cabinet Office he is overseeing cross-government attempts to tackle Whitehall bureaucracy and make savings in the civil service. Whether the rhetoric of Ms Reeves and Mr McFadden will lead to a step change in procurement approach remains to be seen. During the Conservatives' 14 years in office government ministers often talked publicly about the importance of using the Government machine to support British businesses. A consultation issued by the Cabinet Office is looking at changes to procurement rules that make it easier for the government to boost British industry. It will report back in September.
