Cristina Garmendia, former minister of Zapatero, leaves the presidency of Mediaset

Cristina Garmendia (Sant Sebastià, 1962), who was minister of Science during the socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is leaving the presidency of Mediaset by her own decision. In a statement released by the communication group, she assures that she has made the decision after a period of reflection and with the intention of starting a new professional stage focused on "innovation and positive impact on Spain's economy and society".

Garmendia was appointed president of Mediaset in May 2024, a few months after Borja Prado resigned, the right-hand man of Florentino Pérez and who was in charge of the public takeover bid (opa) process, spin-off, and subsequent merger by absorption of the company with its parent company, MediaForEurope (MEF) –controlled by the Berlusconi family–. Prado resigned from his position less than two years after being appointed. In February 2022, he was chosen to replace Alejandro Echevarría, who had held the position for 26 years. A few months after his arrival, the departure of Paolo Vasile, CEO of Mediaset España for 23 years, became public. The former strongman of the company for more than two decades was then replaced by Alessandro Salem, but Prado took advantage of the handover to assume more decision-making power within Mediaset. His growing relevance, however, led to a conflict within the television with accusations of interference in the editorial line of the channel and a marked shift to the right.

The former minister of Zapatero had been linked to Mediaset for more than eight years. She joined the media group in 2017, first as an independent director and as a member and president of the company's Audit and Compliance Committee and the Appointments and Remuneration Committee. Since 2024, she was president of the group led by Alessandro Salem as CEO.

During her time as president, Garmendia has not managed to revive Mediaset from its ashes, which is going through one of its worst moments in terms of audience figures. Telecinco lost its leadership in the 2021-2022 season and has not been able to recover since.

Currently, Garmendia, who studied biology, is also an independent director on the board of directors of CaixaBank, a shareholder director at Ysios Capital Partners, and a member of the Advisory Council of the European Commission's Space.