Executive of the Year Award 2026 Pilar Gil, CEO of PRISA Media
Executive of the Year Award 2026 Pilar Gil, CEO of PRISA Media
October 25, 2026
Dear colleagues and friends,
It is an honor to present the 2026 Executive of the Year Award, a distinction through which the Inter American Press Association recognizes those who, in leading our companies, are able to interpret change, anticipate the future, and turn the challenges facing our industry into opportunities for growth and innovation.
Leading a media organization today requires much more than managing an operation. It requires understanding new audiences, adopting technology thoughtfully, finding sustainable business models, strengthening journalistic brands, and, at the same time, preserving what gives them their true value: their credibility and relevance to society.
Pilar Gil exemplifies this kind of leadership.
As CEO of PRISA Media, she has driven a strategy that combines the strength of established journalistic brands with new models for distribution, innovation, and audience engagement. Her leadership has helped expand the reach of content, diversify platforms, and strengthen PRISA Media’s presence in strategic Latin American markets.
But Pilar’s leadership is not the product of a particular circumstance. It is the result of a career built over many years within PRISA, an organization she joined in 2000, where she has held positions of increasing responsibility, including serving as chief financial officer. This experience has given her an in-depth understanding of the business while enabling her to lead its transformation with a long-term perspective.
In an industry undergoing rapid change, this combination is particularly valuable. Innovation does not mean abandoning who we are; it means finding new ways to build on that identity. Transformation does not mean losing our identity; it means ensuring that our brands, our journalism, and our relationship with audiences remain relevant in the future.
Pilar has demonstrated that it is possible to drive growth and transformation while preserving the strength of well-established journalistic brands. Her leadership offers a contemporary vision of media management: open to innovation, attentive to new consumption habits, and deeply aware of the need to build sustainable organizations.
That is why, in honoring her today, the IAPA recognizes not only an outstanding executive career but also an approach to leadership in times of transformation.
Pilar, on behalf of the Inter American Press Association, it is a genuine pleasure to present you with the 2026 Executive of the Year Award in recognition of your leadership and strategic vision in advancing innovation, transformation, and growth across the media industry.
Please accept our warmest congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.
