Hill+Knowlton Strategies Spain has announced today that former MP of the Spanish Parliament Francesc Vallès has joined its team, as an adviser in charge of its Regulatory & Public Affairs team in its offices in Madrid and Barcelona. In his new role, Vallès will create public affairs strategies for the company’s clients.

Francesc Vallès, who enjoys over 20 years experience in the public sector, is a widely respected spokesman with excellent negotiation skills, great expertise in the management of high-complexity issues, and a profound knowledge of the political and legal fields. Vallès is a specialist in the planning, management and execution of relations with various stakeholders, including the media.

Vallès has been a Diputado, or member of the Spanish Parliament, for three consecutive legislatures (2004 to 2016), as well as member of the Diputación Permanente (a permanent standing committee dependent of the Parliament), and a spokesperson and chairman of several various parliamentary committees, the most notable being the Comisión Constitucional, the Comisión de Industria, the Comisión Mixta de Relaciones con el Tribunal de Cuentas, and the Comisión de Reglamento y del Estatuto del Diputado.

He has also been a member of the Junta de Portavoces en el Congreso de los Diputados (Joint Committee of Spokespeople of the Parliament) since 2013, a coordinator of Catalan MPs and senators in the Parliament, has served as spokesman and media relations liaison, and has led the creation of communication and crisis management plans.

Francesc Vallès has been a Constitutional Law professor at the Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona since 1994 and has also worked as visiting professor in the Université de Montréal and Boston College.

His long career in the Parliament and his solid legal background and education make him an expert in the decision making process in the public sector and grants him deep knowledge of the workings and organization of the public administration.

In the words of Joan Ramon Vilamitjana, CEO for H+K Strategies, “by welcoming Francesc to the team we are gaining a key player that will enable us to offer comprehensive consultancy services to our clients, allowing them to manage their relations with the various stakeholders in their field, particularly in a climate in which public affairs are increasingly important for today’s businesses.”

As Francesc Vallès points out, “organizations need to make more informed decisions, which can be achieved by having a full understanding and knowledge of the impact public regulation can have on their respective fields. One of the defining attributes of H+K is its ability to anticipate and add intelligence to the decision making, together with the full, comprehensive support it offers throughout the entire process.”

Francesc is PhD by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Master of Laws by the Georgetown University Law School of Washington, D.C.

Francesc Vallès has authored several books and publications on Constitutional Law, is a frequent contributor on various media and has been awarded the Premio Luis Carandell by the Asociación de Periodistas Parlamentarios (APP, or Parliamentary Journalist Association) for the best Relations Person with the Media in 2009. His PhD thesis on the control of public spending was recognized with the I Premio Enric Prat de la Riba to the best study on public organization and management, awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya in 2002.