María has been General Manager of Gilead Sciences Spain since 2012. In 2017 she was also appointed Vice President. During this time, she has been responsible for the transformation of the company’s Spanish Affiliate, turning it into a leader in the country's biopharmaceutical sector. 

 

María has a vast experience in the pharmaceutical industry, where she has held different management positions, both at national and international levels, in companies such as Eli Lilly, Janssen-Cilag or GSK. On the latter, just before joining Gilead Sciences, she served as Vice President and Director of the Urology Center of Excellence for Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, and emerging markets, where she was responsible for the commercial strategies as well as R&D and market access programs for Urology products in these territories. 

 

María takes on pride in the growth and development of the people who work with her, many of them are currently occupying managerial positions both at a European and global level.     

 

In 2020, she received the Award for Most Innovative Business Leader from Cinco Días business newspaper at its Business Innovation Awards. In 2021, Redacción Medica, a healthcare newspaper, chose her as the Best Company Executive in its Sanitarias Health Awards.

 

María was born in Noreña (Asturias). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Santiago de Compostela and an MBA from IESE, Barcelona. 

In addition to being a member of the Board of Directors of AmChamSpain, she’s also a member of the Board of Directors of the Circle of Entrepreneurs.