Joana Barbany i Freixa
Director General for Digital Society of the Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya)

She was born in Barcelona in 1973 and lives in Sant Cugat del Vallès since 1999. She holds a Licentiate Degree in Journalism from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and a BA in Business Sciences from Vic University (UVIC).

She was awarded a Master’s Degree in Business Communication and Digital Technologies by the Institut d’Educació Contínua (IDEC) and completed a postgraduate course in Knowledge Management offered by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). She has also participated in the Vicens Vives Programme offered by ESADE and is a board member of the Associació Catalana de Comunicació, Investigació i Estratègia Política, ‘ACCIEP’ (Catalan Association of Communication, Research and Political Strategy).

She has focused her professional career on digital communication (first of all in Lavinia TC and subsequently working freelance) and in strategic and organisational consulting (DEP Institut and LTC Project).

In 2011 she joined the City Council of Sant Cugat del Vallès as the councillor for Communication, Information and Citizen Assistance. In 2013 she became the councillor for Communication, Citizen Assistance, Promotion of the City and Technology. In 2016 she was deputy mayor of Economic Promotion, Innovation and Open Government, as well as of the department of Communication and Employment, attached to the department of Commerce.

In June 2018 she was appointed Director General for Digital Society of the Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya).