Leadership Team

Founder and CEO – Alberto Lopez-Valenzuela

Alberto brings a solid understanding of the industry coupled with the ability to lead successful, highly commercial teams. Alberto has spent the past 20 years working in the Media sector building strong relationships at CXO level and with FTSE executives. Prior to founding Alva, Alberto lived and worked in London for global media companies such as Cision and Datamonitor plc, where he held executive roles including Sales & Marketing Director and VP of Sales in Emerging Markets.

Alberto has a First Class BA Hons Media Management degree from the University of the Arts London and an MBA from Cass Business School.

CTO – Richard Fleming

Richard is a co-founder and CTO of Alva. Richard brings a broad experience of the technology industry and finance, along with a depth of technical expertise. Prior to joining Alva, Richard built the first global infrastructure team for Clifford Chance, one of the world’s leading law firms, where he achieved previously unknown levels of stability and reliability whilst delivering substantial cost efficiencies for the firm.

Prior to joining Clifford Chance, Richard was co-founder of a wireless technology company, taking the business from concept to profitable business. A published research author and qualified financial analyst, Richard has also spent several years in equity research, working mainly with listed technology companies in the UK on M&A, strategy review and financial forecasting.

Richard is an IT graduate and holds an MBA from Cass Business School.

Research & Operations Director – Alastair Pickering

Alastair is a co-founder and Alva’s Operations Director. Alastair has been working for the past 5 years in the media intelligence and reputation management industry.

Alastair began his career at Cision, from university. Two years later he was promoted to a management position with the media evaluation department, where he oversaw the delivery of high quality, bespoke solutions from content source to client across a broad range of sectors and languages. The role included the management of a team of editors and analysts across multiple sites and geographies, as well as content sourcing, selection, negotiation and management of outsourcing operations.

Alastair has a BA Hons in French and German from University College London.