Two Catalans will tandem at the top of Indra: Josep Maria Recasens will be the new CEO

MadridThe presidency of Anfac, the Spanish association of automobile manufacturers, is on its way to becoming a springboard. Josep Maria Recasens (Girona, 1976) was known in the sector – in 2023 he was appointed president and CEO of Renault Group Iberia –, but he gained visibility when in 2024 he took over from Wayne Griffiths at the head of this organization. Two years later, he becomes number two at Indra, the company that aspires to be the flagship of the defense sector in Spain, or at least that is what the Spanish government intends, which is the main shareholder with 28% of the share capital.

Josep Maria Recasens is the choice made by Àngel Simón, non-executive chairman of Indra, to partner with him at the helm of the company, as the company reported this Tuesday afternoon to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), and after a board of directors meeting that lasted less than two hours. His name, in fact, had already been leaked to the media on Monday afternoon. Recasens arrives after it was confirmed that José Vicente De los Mozos is not renewing as CEO of the companya share that was sold this MarchIn this way, two Catalan executives will be in charge of steering Indra's future at a time marked by the boom in public investment in defense. Despite the rain of millions, however, the company has been overshadowed in recent months by internal turmoil that has led not only to the departure of De los Mozos, but also to that of Àngel Escribano, president of Indra between January 2025, when he replaced Marc Murtra, and April of this year.

The origin of the controversy has been the possible integration between Indra and the Escribano Group, founded by the Escribano brothers, Ángel and Javier Escribano, who until recently controlled 14.3% of Indra's share capital (a stake they sold this March). The Spanish government ended up seeing a possible conflict of interest in the operation (they were buyers, but sellers at the same time) and, in fact, Ángel Escribano's departure as president of Indra was interpreted as a forced dismissal by Pedro Sánchez's executive. With Recasens' arrival, a new stage is intended to be opened.

New strategic plan

Among the challenges that Recasens will face together with Simón is the updating of the current strategic plan. In this context, the election of a manager from the automotive sector is relevant. Beyond his industrial vision and management capacity, the defense sector and the automotive sector have long sought to strengthen their collaboration. For the former, the need to execute current millionaire defense programs is key, while the latter sees a business opportunity given the delicate moment the car industry is experiencing. In fact, De los Mozos, Recasens' predecessor, was also a well-known figure in this industry and advocated for strengthening this relationship. "It is an excellent choice," believes a source from the defense sector with reference to Recasens.

Indra also faces the challenge of becoming the leading company in the defense sector in Spain, especially in the land segment, as well as executing the Spanish government's various modernization programs awarded to it, which amount to 7,000 million euros, or complying with the production and delivery of the 8x8 Dragon wheeled armored vehicle contracts. However, the possibility of resuming the integration operation with Escribano continues to loom.

Good relationship with Industry

Recasens, as president of Anfac and top executive of one of the main automotive firms in the State, has woven a fluid relationship with the Minister of Industry, the also Catalan Jordi Hereu. From his portfolio, as well as that of Defense, important contracts for the defense sector depend in order for public investment to be maintained at 2% of GDP, as the Spanish government has committed to NATO.