Parlem changes the presidency and Sabadell reinforces technology

BarcelonaThe academic year has begun in Catalonia with a substantial change at the helm of Parlem, one of the key companies of the business independence movement of the last decade. Furthermore, the end of summer marks, for all intents and purposes, the starting point of Marc Armengol's tenure as CEO of Banc Sabadell, with various organizational changes and a focus on digital activity. In the chamber sphere, the Association of Real Estate Agents (COAPI) has chosen its representative to the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce; while the Spanish government has appointed a new Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Agenda.

Silvia Martínez Losas

President of Parlem

The Catalan telecommunications company Parlem has put an end this week to the soap opera that has led to the changes in ownership. The board of directors of the teleco agreed on Monday to dismiss Ernest Pérez-Mas, founder of the company, from his duties as president. Replacing Pérez-Mas, the company has appointed lawyer Silvia Martínez Losas, a partner at the law firm Lexcrea; who has acted as strategic legal advisor to Parlem's brand-new primary shareholder, the investment fund Inveready, owned by Josep Maria Echarri. The board, however, agreed to keep Pérez-Mas in the capacity of non-executive vice president.

Martínez Losas, it should be remembered, joined Parlem's board of directors at the beginning of August, following the shareholders' meeting that ratified the changes in ownership, in the capacity of independent director. At that time, investors approved by near unanimity the conversion into shares of a 17.5 million debt that the company had with Inveready. The green light was also given to a capital increase worth 7.95 million euros, which the board has decided to execute this same week, and in which Global Portfolio Investments, the holding company of the family that owns Mayoral, plays a relevant role.

Beyond the appointment of the chairwoman, Parlem's board of directors also approved the appointment of Julio Sala and David Ayats as joint general managers. In addition, Naiara Bueno Aybar was appointed secretary of the board, who will occupy the position in relief of Agustí Bou Maqueda.

Federico Muñiz

SOC Director

The Generalitat is also starting the academic year with renovations in the economic sphere. The Government has announced this week the appointment of Federico Muñiz as the new director of the Employment Service of Catalonia. Muñiz replaces Francesc Castellana at the head of the labor office. A graduate in physical sciences from the University of Barcelona, Muñiz is an expert in employment policies, strategic analysis, and data governance.

The executive highlights their career in administration at all levels: since last year, they have been responsible for the executive coordination of the SOC; and previously held the sub-directorate general of statistics and information at the State Public Employment Service (SEPE). Throughout the two decades they have professionally dedicated to the labor world, Muñiz has developed "strategic leadership tasks, governance of complex information systems, quantitative analysis of the labor market, and impact evaluation of public policies".

Robert Duran

Head of the corporate transformation and AI area at Banc Sabadell

Although the appointment of Marc Armengol as the new CEO of Banc Sabadell has been public knowledge for months, and became effective at the beginning of May, the start of the school year marks the proverbial starting gun for his tenure at the head of the Catalan entity, with all management movements in full effect and his roadmap for the entity in operation. Armengol stands out, assured Sabadell's chairman, Josep Oliu, for his "extensive knowledge of the banking business in general and its technological and organizational aspects in particular." Therefore, it is not surprising that digitalization and artificial intelligence are among the main novelties of his mandate.

In fact, the bank announced at the end of July the creation of the Corporate Transformation and Artificial Intelligence area, which will be headed by Robert Duran, a profile with more than 9 years of career at the Catalan entity. Duran will lead the area that "promotes the deployment of AI throughout the organization".

Beyond the push for AI, the Catalan bank will also create a new business transformation area, dedicated to accelerating the digitalization of the service. This segment will be led by Jorge Rodríguez Maroto, head of retail banking, who has accumulated more than half a decade in different areas of Sabadell, always dedicated to the retail segment.

Eduardo Torres

Commercial Director of Glovo in Spain

Glovo has appointed Eduardo Torres as the new commercial director in Spain. According to the company, the goal of the appointment is to "acquire new establishments to collaborate with the company". In this sense, according to the platform of Catalan origin, Torres "will lead the business growth strategy in Glovo's main market globally".

With a degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Valencia and a specialization in Economic Sciences from the University of Rotterdam, Torres has developed a large part of his career at the British platform Carwow, dedicated to comparing offers available in the new car segment.

Guifré Homedes

COAPI representative at the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce

At the beginning of August, the Association of Real Estate Agents of Barcelona appointed Guifré Homedes Amat as the new representative to the plenary session of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. Homedes will occupy the position that the COAPI won in the 2023 chamber elections, replacing Vicenç Hernández. Homedes, it should be remembered, is the second vice president of the Association's governing board. He is also the general director of Amat Immobiliaris, and is, in fact, part of the third generation of the family at the head of the company, founded by Joan Amat in 1948.

The president of the Association, Montserrat Junyent, highlighted the importance of "active participation" by the entity in the Chamber; a role she considers "fundamental to contribute the vision of real estate professionals to the economic and business debates that affect the development of Catalonia". For his part, Homedes pointed out his "willingness to serve" in representing the COAPI in the public law corporation, with the aim of bringing to the plenary "the interests of the Association and of all real estate professionals in a space for dialogue and the construction of proposals for the country's economic fabric".

Leire Iglesias

Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Agenda

The Council of Ministers has appointed Leire Iglesias this week as the new Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Agenda, replacing David Lucas, who passed away on July 20th. Iglesias previously held the presidency of the state housing and land entity, SEPES; a position she assumed since its establishment. Before taking on this role, the new secretary was the Minister of Mobility, Transport, and Housing for the Junta de Extremadura. She also served as the housing spokesperson for the Socialist parliamentary group in the 10th legislature, following the 2011 elections.

Iglesias' replacement at the helm of SEPES will be Maribel Ramos, as approved by the Council of Ministers. Ramos had held the position of director of the state entity's affordable housing stock since its founding. Previously, she had been the deputy general director of the organization Hogar Sí.