A U-turn at CaixaBank's Communications Department

Movements at CaixaBank. The historic director of Communication and Institutional Relations, Maria Lluïsa Martínez Gistau, is leaving her position. She has been at the helm of the entity's communication for 25 years and for the last 10 years has also been a member of the bank's management committee. Her position will be taken by Jordi Soldevila, until now in charge of the entity's real estate business. In addition, the Spanish government has rushed to find the name of Cani Fernández's replacement to chair the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC). The council of ministers approved proposing Juan José Ganuza Fernández to assume the position.

Jordi Soldevila

Director of Communication and Institutional Relations of CaixaBank

Revolution in CaixaBank's Communication and Institutional Relations department. The historic Maria Lluïsa Martínez Gistau steps down from leading this department after a quarter of a century, and will be replaced by Jordi Soldevila, who until now led the entity's real estate business as CEO of BuildingCenter and Director of Real Estate of Non-Performing Assets of CaixaBank. CaixaBank's board of directors has agreed, in its meeting this Friday, to appoint Jordi Soldevila as Director of Communication and Institutional Relations of the financial entity, as well as his incorporation into the management committee, replacing Maria Lluïsa Martínez Gistau. The effectiveness of this incorporation is pending suitability verification by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Maria Lluïsa Martínez has held this position for 25 years, 10 of which she has been part of the entity's management committee. She will remain linked to the Communication and Institutional Relations department of CaixaBank for the coming months to facilitate an orderly transition process towards Jordi Soldevila's new roles. The current general director of BuildingCenter, Borja Kaiser, has been appointed a director of the company, and his upcoming appointment as CEO of BuildingCenter to replace Soldevila in the position is planned. 

Juan José Ganuza

President of the CNMC

The Council of Ministers approved the proposal to appoint Juan José Ganuza Fernández, a professor at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), as president of the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC). Although a longer debate was expected in the executive between those who favored a more political name and those who wanted a more technical profile, according to sources close to the process, the fact is that Ganuza, in principle, meets both requirements: without being a party man, he is considered close to the socialists, while also having a technical and academic profile with sufficient experience for the position. If the government's proposal is approved by Congress, Ganuza will replace Cani Fernández, who has completed a non-renewable six-year term.

Juan José Ganuza Fernández (1968) holds a degree in Physical Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid and a PhD in Economics from Carlos III University, and currently works as a professor of Economics and Business at UPF. The Ministry of Economy, which made the proposal, highlights that Ganuza has accumulated nearly three decades of academic experience specializing in competition policy, market regulation, digital economy, and public procurement. A suitable profile for an organization like the CNMC, which oversees competition and supervises markets. In fact, the new president will have to resolve the open investigations into electricity companies for the massive blackout on April 28 last year.

Ganuza has directed the master's program in competition and market regulation at the Barcelona School of Economics for a decade, a training benchmark in the regulatory field in Spain. Since 2014, he has directed the competition and market regulation division at Funcas, where he has led applied research projects with direct impact on public policy design.

This will not be the only change at the CNMC. At the proposal of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, the appointments of Carmen Balsa, Joan Capdevilla, and Marina Echebarría Sáenz as new CNMC councilors have also been proposed. The four candidates will have to appear before the Congress's Economy and Digital Transformation Committee to subsequently be appointed by the Council of Ministers by royal decree.

Àngels Chacón

Foundation for Industry

The former Minister of Business of the Generalitat, Àngels Chacón, has decided to leave the communication agency LLYC (formerly Llorente y Cuenca), where she held the general management in Barcelona, to take charge of the strategy of the Foundation for Industry, as ARA has learned. Chacón, who was Minister of Business from 2018 to 2020, joined LLYC in October 2022. In the new phase of the agency, in which the functions of the territorial general directorates have changed, Chacón has opted to dedicate herself to new professional activities.

The Foundation for Industry, promoted by the Association of Manufacturers of Sabadell, has among its objectives to work for the development of the Catalan industrial fabric, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. One of its main functions is to lobby for the defense of industry. The former minister, after dedicating herself to the private sector in international trade, was a councilor of the Igualada City Council, as well as general director of Industry of the Generalitat.

Joaquim Hortalà i Vallvé

Leave Renfe

The Secretary General of Renfe, Joaquim Hortalà i Vallvé, has resigned after two years in office for "strictly personal" reasons, as he himself explained, according to sources from the state railway operator confirmed to Europa Press. Hortalà i Vallvé, until now Secretary General and of the Board of Directors of Renfe Operadora and Director of the Legal Department of Renfe, communicated his resignation on Thursday, to which he acceded in May 2024.

"The resignation will take effect in the coming weeks, once the person who will assume his functions is designated, with the aim of guaranteeing an orderly transition and ensuring continuity in the normal operation of the company," indicated Renfe, which thanks Hortalà i Vallvé for the work carried out during these years and his contribution to the company. According to what was published last Wednesday by El Confidencial, the departure occurs in a context of disagreements with the company's management and at a time of particular internal tension due to the transformation process of the railway group. According to sources consulted by this medium, Hortalà i Vallvé would have communicated the decision directly to the president of the operator, Álvaro Fernández Heredia.

Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh

Co-Presidents of JP Morgan Chase

The North American bank JP Morgan Chase has announced the promotion of executives Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh, who will take control of the entity's two most important divisions and will hold the position of co-presidents, while the bank prepares the succession of its historic CEO, Jamie Dimon. Petno and Rohrbaugh have so far held the position of co-CEO of Commercial and Investment Banking and, with the new changes, Petno will become the sole CEO of this division, while Rohrbaugh will assume the role of CEO of Consumer and Community Banking.

In line with strengthening their role in the financial entity – considered the largest bank in the world – both will hold the position of co-president, although the bank has indicated that both will continue to report on their activities to Dimon. Thus, both seem to increase their chances of accessing the succession race of the veteran leader of JP Morgan, who has been at the helm of the entity since 2006. "The changes announced today represent an important step in the succession planning process and the development of our most outstanding leaders carried out by our board of directors. We are fortunate to have an exceptional group of senior leaders, not only on our operating committee but throughout the organization, and I have never felt more enthusiastic about the future of JPMorgan Chase," said Dimon himself.

José Sainz Armada

President of Iberdola Spain

José Sainz Armada has been appointed president of Iberdrola Spain, a position he will combine with his current role as group finance director, the company reported. With this appointment, Iberdrola Spain will also be chaired by an executive from the energy group, in line with the model already implemented in other subsidiaries such as ScottishPower (United Kingdom), Avangrid (United States) and Neoenergia (Brazil), chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán, or Iberdrola Energ.

For his part, Mario Ruiz-Tagle will continue as CEO of the group's Spanish subsidiary, a position he has held since 2022. The electric company highlighted that the election of Sainz Armada represents a recognition of his role in "Iberdrola's sustained trajectory of growth and international consolidation, always compatible with maintaining financial strength and a growing dividend policy". Sainz Armada is one of the historic executives at the energy company, having held the finance director position for almost 25 years, from where he has become a benchmark in the sector for financial markets.

A key figure in Iberdrola's growth and financial strength, Sainz Armada (Madrid, 1959) holds a degree in Law and Business Administration from ICADE and an MBA from INSEAD, and has an extensive career in the financial and energy sectors. Before joining the electric company in 2002, he held positions of high responsibility at JP Morgan, Argentaria and BBVA.