Reynés, Criteria's right-hand man

BarcelonaFrancisco Reynés Massanet (Palma, 1963), the new strongman at CriteriaCaixa, the investment arm of La Caixa (with the largest portfolio of business holdings in Spain), has now established himself as one of the most trusted figures of the Foundation's president, Isidre Fainé, during his first promotion. Reynés became a trustee of the La Caixa Foundation, owner of the entire universe of the Miró star and sole shareholder of Criteria.

Although the black towers denied any succession readings, the truth has finally prevailed. The clearest aspect is the replacement of Ángel Simón, appointed CEO of Criteria in January of last year and then considered a man of complete confidence in the company. During these months, he has strengthened Criteria's portfolio of business holdings and developed its strategic plan until 2030. Reynés will have more power than his predecessor and will become executive vice president.

Sources close to La Caixa affirm that the chairman, Isidre Fainé, did not like the team of executives that Simón had surrounded himself with, many of them from Agbar, whose company he was chairman of. Other people familiar with the process affirm that "there have been disagreements." One of the most recent was the announcement of a preliminary agreement to acquire a stake in the steel company Celsa, which Criteria itself watered down through another statement a few days later. "There are marriages that last 40 years and others, just one year," a source familiar with the rift between Fainé and Simón stated in a very illustrative way.

A change a few months ago that was interpreted as a warning to Simón was the appointment of Josep Maria Coronas as general director of the La Caixa Foundation, which added to the functions of secretary of the foundation and Criteria and represented a countervailing power for this executive, who was accustomed to giving orders and already has his own agenda.

An industrial engineer from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and with an MBA from IESE, Reynés, as president of Naturgy, helped halt the rise of the Australians from IFM when they launched a takeover bid for the energy company, which Fainé opposed. However, the fund later ended up being one of Àngel Simón's funds as the strongman of Criteria, because he is expected to gain more power as he will be executive vice president of this company with stakes worth more than €30 billion, including that of Naturgy, the company of which he is and will continue to be executive chairman, at least for a while, according to the sources consulted. At Naturgy—a company he transformed from the former Gas Natural—he was Vice President and CEO of Abertis Infraestructuras, which he joined in 2009. From 2015 until joining Naturgy, he was also President of Cellnex Telecom, where he led its IPO in 2015. The company, then in the toll road sector, is now owned by Mundys (Benetton) and Florentino Pérez's ACS. Prior to his time at Abertis, he was CEO of the industrial holding company Criteria CaixaCorp.

Reynés Massanet began his professional career in the automotive sector, first associated with the Volkswagen Group and then with Johnson Controls. He later became CEO of the cement group Uniland. He has also served on the boards of directors in several countries: Sanef, Eutelsat, and Boursorama in France; Hispasat, Agbar, and Adeslas in Spain; Arterios in Brazil; VíasChile in Chile; SC Enfida in Tunisia; Southern Cement in the United Kingdom; Cementos Avellaneda in Argentina; and the international group Veolia.

In the 2021 edition of the Platts Global Energy Awards, Reynés Massanet was recognized as CEO of the Year for his strategic vision, leadership, integrity, and capacity for continuous improvement, as well as for his demonstration of clarity of vision, common sense, and motivation to transform organizations. Furthermore, Naturgy was recognized this year as the best energy company for its cultural and business transformation. And the prestigious magazine Forbes Spain recognized him as Best CEO 2020.