The Principality appoints the 22 members of the Sendia Committee on artificial intelligence

The Ministry of Presidency, Demographic Challenge, Equality and Tourism has appointed the full and alternate members of the Asturias Ethical, Regulatory and Innovation Supervision Committee for Artificial Intelligence (Sendia Committee), the collegiate body that advises the Principality on AI matters. The appointment was formalized by a resolution dated October 26, 2026, signed by the Minister Gimena Llamedo González, and published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) no. 216, of November 9, 2026, under code 2026-08932.

The Sendia Committee was created by Decree 34/2026, of May 18, as a collegiate body for advice, participation, and support regarding artificial intelligence within the Administration of the Principality of Asturias. Article 4 establishes that members shall be appointed by the head of the Ministry competent in AI matters through a resolution published in the BOPA, a process now completed with the proposals submitted by the entities, organisms, and bodies represented on the committee.

The resolution also invokes Law 40/2015, of October 1, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector regarding collegiate bodies, and the competencies of the Ministry established in the basic organic structure (Decree 73/2023, of August 18), as amended by decrees 24/2024, of March 15, 47/2025, of April 28, and 12/2026, of March 9. In total, the committee consists of 22 members: twelve from the regional Administration and ten external members.

Twelve members from the Administration of the Principality

The designated internal representatives are:

• María Carmen García Álvarez (Head of the AI Strategy, Innovation and Administrative Simplification Service) and Javier Rojo Fernández, for the Directorate General for Digital Strategy and Artificial Intelligence.
• Gerardo Blanco Lama (Head of the Security, Data and Artificial Intelligence Service) and Rogelio Fortea Molina, for the same directorate general.
• Ana Isabel Menéndez Rodríguez and Patricia González del Valle García, for the Technical General Secretariat of the Department.
• Elsa Gutiérrez San Millán and José Antonio Fernández Domínguez, for the Asturian Institute of Public Administration “Adolfo Posada” (IAAP).
• Laura Muñoz Fernández and Isolina Riaño Galán, for the Department of Health.
• Fernando Mantilla Gómez and Fernando Salazar de Paz, for the Department of Education.
• Cecilia Cachero Crespo (Director General of Heritage and Procurement) and María José Soto García, for the Department of Finance, Justice and European Affairs.
• José Antonio Garmón Fidalgo and Enrique Rodríguez Nuño, for the Department of Social Rights and Welfare.
• María Isabel González Cachero and José Manuel Fernández García, for the Legal Service of the Principality of Asturias.
• Carlos Rodríguez Sánchez and Eulalia Fernández Méndez, for the Sub-directorate General for Administrative Reform.
• Carlos Rodríguez Muiños and Alfonso Roza Villa, for the Sub-directorate General competent for the promotion of AI agents.
• Silvia Toyos del Coz (General Comptroller) and Noelia Bueno Mesas (Delegate Comptroller), for the General Comptroller’s Office.

Companies, university and social agents

The external half of the committee incorporates business, technological, academic and trade union organizations:

• Asturian Federation of Entrepreneurs (FADE): Jorge Enríquez Rodríguez (Director of Transformation) and Ignacio García López.
• Asturias ICT Cluster: Patricio José Arias Álvarez (President) and Enrique Jáimez Falagán (General Manager).
• Asturian Consortium of Technological Services (CAST): Alejandro Cantora Álvarez (Managing Director) and Diana Rivas Suárez.
• University of Oviedo (1st membership): Miguel Ángel Presno Linera (Professor of Constitutional Law) and Patricia García Majado.
• University of Oviedo (2nd membership): Noelia Rico Pachón (Director of CEISIA) and José Ranilla Pastor (Professor of Computing and Artificial Intelligence).
• CTIC Technology Centre: Luis Jesús García Fernández (Director of Data Economy) and Daniel Sánchez Valdés.
• Third Sector Table of Asturias/EAPN: Víctor García Ordás and Mónica Oviedo Sastre, president of CERMI Asturias.
• CCOO Asturias: Lucía Montejo Arnaíz (Secretary of Employment and Training) and Antonio Iglesias Martínez.
• UGT Asturias: María del Mar Celemín Santos and Javier Campa Méndez.
• Official College of Computer Engineering of the Principality of Asturias (COIIPA): José García Fanjul (Dean) and Enrique Riesgo Canal.

Secretariat and term of office

The resolution also designates the Secretariat of the body. The position is held by María del Carmen García Álvarez, Head of the Strategy Service in Intelligence, Administrative Innovation and Official Publications, with Javier Rojo Fernández, Head of the Digital Development Management Service, as substitute; both attached to the General Directorate of Digital Strategy and Artificial Intelligence.

The term of office for the appointees extends for the period provided for in the regulatory decree of the committee, without prejudice to cases of termination, resignation, substitution, or loss of the status for which they were appointed.

The effective constitution of the Sendia Committee provides a formal structure for the ethical and regulatory supervision of the artificial intelligence systems used by the Asturian Administration, a field that until now lacked its own collegiate body. For the regional technology sector, the organization opens a stable channel of dialogue with the regional Government regarding public procurement of AI, data reuse, and the deployment of intelligent agents, while the presence of trade unions, the third sector, and professional associations incorporates the labor and rights dimension into decisions on the automation of public services.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA), no. 216, of November 9, 2026, section I. Principality of Asturias, Other Provisions, pp. 1-2 (official reference: 2026-08932).