Shareholders Overwhelmingly Back Oughourlian’s Leadership at PRISA with 99.52% Support

• Joseph Oughourlian: “My focus as Chair is stability, business performance, and, as I never tire of repeating, the integrity of this company,”
• Pilar Gil: “Financial stability is a superpower. We now have the solid foundation we need to move forward and continue growing.”
• Paco Cuadrado: “We see tremendous potential in integrating AI into our educational ecosystem.”

The Annual General Meeting of PRISA, held this Wednesday, May 14 in Madrid, saw shareholders give overwhelming backing — with a resounding 99.52% of votes — to the leadership of Joseph Oughourlian as Chairperson of the Board of Directors, just over four years after he was appointed to the role.

The Meeting also approved, by a broad majority, the 2024 financial statements, set the number of Board members, and ratified the remuneration of the Board of Directors. Additionally, shareholders approved the proposed allocation of 2024 earnings and the consolidated non-financial information and sustainability reports for the year.


Joseph Oughourlian, Chairperson of PRISA: “We’re finally where we want to be”

Joseph Oughourlian emphasized that 2024 had been another good year for PRISA, both in education and media, and that over the past four years the Group has been anything but idle:

“We have reorganized the businesses, accelerated their digital transformation, strengthened our position in Latin America, and reinforced the relevance of our brands. And, above all, we have turned around the Group’s financial fortunes, drastically reducing both debt and leverage.”

He continued: “We’re finally where we want to be. We can finally focus on what matters: developing our products, growing our businesses, and upholding our commitment to excellence — for our readers, our listeners, our clients, and for society as a whole.”

Oughourlian underlined Santillana’s dual role as both a transformative educational force and a successful business, adding that he is personally pained by careless speculation about a rumored potential sale of the business unit:

“Let me be absolutely clear: Santillana is an essential part of PRISA — a non-negotiable part — contributing half of our total revenue and 70% of our EBITDA. Above all, it is a business that is deeply embedded in our mission to drive progress for individuals and for society.”

Regarding PRISA Media’s role in an environment increasingly distorted by disinformation, he stated:

“We are proud of every one of those subscribers who choose us — and who make us better through their high standards.

He also celebrated the centenary of Cadena SER and its role during Spain’s recent power outage:

“There’s always someone quoting the Buggles song from 1979: “Video Killed the Radio Star.”  Thankfully, real-world radio is resilient — and has shown that not even video can kill it off. Nobody can.”

The Chairperson also reaffirmed PRISA’s commitment to strengthening democracy across all areas of its work, highlighting a specific example of the Group’s ongoing efforts: “While deepfakes were proliferating and half the world’s population was heading to the polls, PRISA Media developed VerificAudio, a tool that can analyze the reliability and authenticity of audio files. It has gone on to win major international awards.”

Before closing, Oughourlian stated: “This Group is not a toy. We cannot afford to be distracted by internal power struggles — but neither can we allow particular interests to override the collective good. Since the day I became Chairperson of PRISA, I haven’t shifted from that position. I have stood steadfast in the role of Chairperson — working for the benefit of all shareholders, all employees, and all creditors. And I will not waver from that position. I believe the facts and the results speak for themselves: my focus as Chair has been — and continues to be — stability, business performance, and, as I’ve said before and will never stop repeating, the integrity of this company.”


Pilar Gil, Vice Chair and CFO of PRISA: “We’ve cleared every obstacle”

PRISA’s Vice Chair and CFO, Pilar Gil, noted that the Group is “fully aware of the essential role our companies play in the societies in which we operate — and of their vital contribution to the health and progress of democracy.”

She stressed the importance of the new refinancing deal signed on May 6:

“In today’s world, financial stability is a superpower. Our job is to ensure the independence and profitability of our businesses — and we are genuinely proud to have secured both. We now have the solid foundation we need to move forward and continue growing.”

Francisco Cuadrado, Executive Chair of Santillana: “We will continue advancing our value proposition for the education market with determination”

Francisco Cuadrado, Executive Chair of Santillana, emphasized that the business unit sees tremendous potential in integrating artificial intelligence into its educational ecosystem — where it will have a transformative impact by generating personalized content, anticipating student behavior and outcomes, and developing 24/7 support tools for teachers, students, and families.

He also reaffirmed Santillana’s “commitment to the communities we serve. This includes embedding the Sustainable Development Goals across all our educational projects, as well as launching targeted initiatives that elevate the role of schools and that support and train education professionals. These include: the Sustainable Schools Award, the Santillana Inclusive Congress, and the International Forum on Sustainability in Education.”

“And we won’t stop there,” Cuadrado said. “We are passionately driven by our mission to create life-changing opportunities through the best educational solutions. Guided by our transformational strategic vision, we will continue advancing our value proposition for the education market with determination and evolving our business model.


Pilar Gil: Information, commitment, and innovation — with profitability front of mind

In her role as current head of PRISA Media, Gil began by quoting Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho:

“Imagine a day without journalists. It would be a world inhabited by silence or lies.”

“I refuse to imagine it,” she added, warning of growing threats to democracy:
“We’re all aware of the world that lies ahead — or rather, the world that’s already here: populism, disinformation, and growing contempt for the pillars of democracy.

She stressed that PRISA Media’s mission remains clear: to deliver news and information to citizens “with the rigor and talent that define us — in every format and on every platform — while keeping profitability front of mind.”

Gil also reflected on the centenary of radio and Cadena SER in 2024:

“Once again, we were reminded that radio is an essential part of this country — of its streets and its people. Radio isn’t ours; it belongs to our listeners. They’re the ones who create that unique, personal, magical connection with us — by listening and being listened to.”
She concluded by reiterating the Group’s belief in journalism as a force for good: “A better world is possible — through journalism”. Journalism understood as information, engagement, commitment, and innovation, she explained. “Innovation is not just a buzzword for us — it’s a way of working, of doing things. We apply it consistently and practically, always for the benefit of our audience and society.”

Ending on a forward-looking note, she emphasized the Group’s future:

“The future of PRISA Media is one we’ve been steadily building over the past years — and one we can now truly guarantee.

“As the Chairperson announced, we’ll be presenting a new strategic plan after the summer. In Media, that plan will be grounded in journalism and in our core priorities — innovation, reaching new audiences, commitment to society, excellence, and, yes once again, profitability.”