A market for executives worthy of the tabloids

BarcelonaThe start of the school year has been turbulent in the executive recruitment market, overshadowed mainly by a news story worthy of the tabloids: the Swiss multinational Nestlé discovered that its CEO, Laurent Freixe, was having a romantic relationship with a direct subordinate to whom he allegedly granted privileges within the immediate future. Beyond that, however, Nestlé has dismissed its top executive without severance pay, a decision that has been reflected in the stock market with a fall of more than 3% for the company and leaves its future non-executive chairman, Pablo Isla (who will be appointed in 2026, if not appointed in 2026, ex-Nestlé), in a complicated situation. For the moment, the company has appointed Philipp Navratil, who led the company's coffee and beverage business in Mexico, to replace Freixe. Apart from this news, the start of the school year brings us significant changes in the executive market. These are some of them:

Movements at Banco Santander

Banco Santander has made three new appointments to accelerate the bank's transformation strategy in Spain, according to Europa Press this week. Pedro Gómez Heredia has joined the management committee of Santander Spain as the new head of people and culture, a decision effective last Monday, September 1. He replaces Raquel Graciano, who assumed the same role at the bank's Mexican subsidiary. Gómez Heredia has experience leading transformation projects in technology environments and has knowledge of the Santander Group, which he joined in 2012 as head of human resources for Switzerland. Until now, and since November 2020, he has been the director of people and culture at PagoNxt.

The other two appointments correspond to two new additions to the group: Arantxa Sarasola, formerly of ING, joins Santander Spain as director of data and artificial intelligence, while Sarah Chemouli, from Procter & Gamble, joins as the new head of marketing. The bank explains that the profile of both executives will be "key" to accelerating customer acquisition and advancing personalization across all channels.

Laia Bonastra, new president of CoopCat

The Confederation of Cooperatives of Catalonia (CoopCat) is embarking on a new era with changes in its presidency. Laia Bonastra, president of Suara Cooperativa and co-president of the Federation of Worker Cooperatives of Catalonia, takes over from Guillem Llorens at the helm of the entity, who has held the position since 2018.

The association notes that over these seven years, the organization has experienced significant institutional, social, and economic changes, both nationally and internationally. Now, under the leadership of Laia Bonastra, the Confederation emphasizes "the need to project cooperativism as an innovative, locally rooted, and efficient business model, capable of responding to current social and economic challenges."

Philips appoints Miguel de Foronda as new CEO for Italy, Israel, and Greece.

Royal Philips announced the appointment of Miguel de Foronda as the new General Manager for Italy, Israel and Greece (IIG), a position he will combine with his current position as General Manager for Iberia (Spain and Portugal), the company announced in a statement. De Foronda will succeed Andrea Celli.

Miguel de Foronda, a graduate and doctor in pharmacy from the Complutense University of Madrid, has been with Philips since 2001, when he joined as Director of the Distribution Channel for Iberia. Since then, he has held various responsibilities in sales and marketing, both in Spain and Portugal, and internationally. He has extensive experience in the healthcare sector, including working for companies such as Altana Pharma and Agilent Technologies.

Margarita Díez returns to manage the Port Area of the Ports of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government's Ports Center).

Margarita Díez Rilova rejoined the public company Ports de la Generalitat this week as Director of the Central Port Area, after a six-year stint managing the Mataró Port Consortium. From June 2001 to September 2019, she held various responsibilities at Ports de la Generalitat, including the Port of Palamós technician, the Environmental technician, the Commercial Manager of the Central Port Area, and the Regional Manager of the Central Port Area. From October 2019 until now, she served as Manager of the Mataró Port Consortium. He will now manage the Central Port Area, which includes the ports of Arenys de Mar, Garraf, Vallcarca, and Vilanova i la Geltrú, as well as the fishing ports of Masnou and Mataró, and the marinas of Balís, Mataró, Premià de Mar, Masnou, Badalona, ​​​​Port Fòrum, and the Sitges-Aiguadolç Olympic Port.

Díez holds a degree in civil engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), a doctorate in marine sciences, and a published thesis on pollutant dispersion. She holds master's degrees in port engineering and management (UPC), environmental engineering and management (UPC and the Institute of Science and Technology), and senior management. She also holds a postgraduate degree in marine sciences (UPC).