The foundation board and all four public administrations represented on it backed Helena Guardans as the new president of Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. The decision came at a meeting at the Palau de la Generalitat.
Those administrations are the Generalitat, Spain's Ministry of Culture, Barcelona City Council and the Diputació de Barcelona. Other members of the patronato de la Fundació del Gran Teatre also supported her.
The official Liceu announcement said the appointment had institutional backing and highlighted the work Guardans had already begun through the theatre's business and philanthropic network. The foundation said she is the first woman to serve as president of the Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu.
Guardans is not taking office to change the Liceu's artistic direction. The theatre says she will protect and expand its artistic excellence and creative ambition while strengthening its international reach. It also expects her to widen the ways it connects with society.
Guardans has been linked to the Liceu since January 2024, when she became president of its council of patronage. In that role, she pushed for greater business involvement and urged donors and benefactors to deepen their ties with the institution. That experience now sits at the centre of her presidency.
Her career has focused on organisational change and cooperation across business and institutions, including their relationship with wider society. Born in Barcelona in 1960, she studied at Esade and New York University. While in New York, Guardans created a company that promoted and marketed Catalan designers' fashion in the United States.
Europa Press and Expansión reported that Guardans's presidency is a five-year mandate. She succeeds Salvador Alemany, whose departure concludes ten years at the head of the Liceu foundation.
After returning to Barcelona, she took a management role at General de Tabacos de Filipinas. She later moved into advertising.
In 1994, she founded Singular, a pioneering consumer-service company, and chaired it for more than 30 years. The business attracted attention and went through merger and acquisition processes.
Guardans has also written about lessons she learned from her children that she never received at business school. Her 2019 book was later translated into English and French, followed by a Chinese edition.
That background helps explain the Liceu's choice. The theatre has cited her ability to build teams and connect institutions with companies and other parts of society.
The appointment does not represent a break with the Liceu's artistic mission. It brings stronger organisational and financial ties to that mission.
The formal ceremony took place as the 2026-2027 season opened. Related coverage mentioned Aida. The timing linked the leadership change to a new artistic cycle, not a pause in the theatre's programming.
Guardans arrives with direct knowledge of the Liceu's benefactors. Her career has also centred on business development and institutional alliances. For the theatre, she brings a practical leadership profile: protecting artistic standards while making the institution easier for the society that supports it to reach.
