Javier Godó, new vice president of the La Caixa Foundation

BarcelonaThe board of trustees of the La Caixa Foundation unanimously approved on Thursday the appointment of Javier Godó Muntañola, Count of Godó, as the new vice president of the entity, according to sources from the Foundation chaired by Isidre Fainé.

Javier Godó (Barcelona, ​​​​1941) is a member of the board of trustees of the La Caixa Foundation and vice president of the board of directors of its investment arm, CriteriaCaixa, since June 2014. In addition, he is the president of the Multimedia Group Grupo Godó de Comunicación, SA, publisher of The Vanguard, honorary chairman of the board of directors of Sports World and president of the Holding Inmobiliaria Torre Bcn 477 SL. He is also president of the Fundación Conde de Barcelona, ​​​​first vice president of the Sociedad Económica Barcelosa de Amigos del País, member of the Macba Foundation, advisor to the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), member of the board of trustees of the Ramon Llull University and member of the advisory board of the Spanish chapter of the Club of Rome.

The appointment of Godó as vice president of the La Caixa Foundation comes after the changes in the top management of the entity in January, when Josep Maria Coronas assumed the general management of the Foundationreplacing Antoni Vila, who at 75 years of age has decided to leave the post for personal reasons. Coronas' appointment led to the sudden resignation of Juan José López Burniol as vice-president. This vacancy had been vacant and in financial circles there was much expectation to see who would fill it, because it could be a clue to the future replacement of Isidre Fainé at the head of the most influential Catalan economic institution. But sources consulted by the ARA do not see any interpretation of succession in this appointment.

Shortly afterwards, the Foundation announced changes in its leadership, with two new deputy general directors: Esther Planas and Sergi Loughney. Planas heads the areas of finance, legal, media and operations, and people and organization. She will also be responsible for the functions of internal audit and regulatory compliance, as well as the management of the Palau Macaya. For his part, Sergi Loughney is responsible for the functions of communication, marketing and institutional relations. It also coordinates the institutional activity of the CaixaForum, CosmoCaixa, Cap Roig and Palau Macaya centres.

In addition, a new deputy director general for research and grants, Àngel Font, was also appointed. This deputy general directorate joins the social one, where Marc Simón remains, who maintains the structure and functions to manage the Foundation's social programmes and calls. The deputy directorate for culture and territory will continue to be led by Rafael Chueca, who also maintains his functions until now, managing all the cultural activity of the entity, as well as its territorial and centre structure.