Meritxell Batet makes her debut as a board member at Ebro Foods, and other signings of the week

The major earthquake in management changes has been dominated this week by the news of Ángel Simón's departure as CEO of CriteriaCaixa, one year and four months after his appointment. His replacement at the helm of La Caixa's investment arm will be Naturgy's executive chairman, Francisco Reynés. Beyond this move, former Congress president Meritxell Batet returns to the headlines by joining Ebro Foods, the president of Celsa will also become president of Veolia Spain, and a Mango veteran is leaving. These are the week's key signings.

Meritxell Batet joins Ebro Foods

Former Speaker of the Congress of Deputies and Minister of Territorial Policy, Meritxell Batet, has now joined Ebro Foods as an independent director to fill the vacancy on the board of Marc Murtra, now Chairman of Telefónica. Batet thus makes her debut with this agri-food company on the board of a company more than 10% owned by the state through SEPI. Batet has also been appointed to the Executive Committee and the Audit, Control, and Sustainability Committee, from which Belén Barreiro resigned.

Meritxell Batet was one of the most prominent faces of Pedro Sánchez's first term in office. Between 2018 and 2019, she served as Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Administration, a position she left to become Speaker of the Congress of Deputies until July 2023. She also headed the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) list in the 2023 general elections, but retired from politics shortly after.

Rafael Villaseca, new president of Veolia Spain

The current non-executive chairman of Celsa, Rafael Villaseca, will also be the non-executive chairman of Veolia Spain, where he will perform institutional representation functions, according to the announcement. The Newspaper The French multinational confirmed this in a statement. Thus, Villaseca will combine his responsibilities at both companies, as this latest appointment will not affect his duties at Celsa, according to the steel group.

For its part, the French multinational has also announced the appointment of Daniel Tugues as the new director of Veolia in Spain, effective Thursday, May 1. In this position, Tugues will oversee all activities of the group's energy, waste, and water teams in Spain, including the joint venture company Aigües de Barcelona.

Elena Carasso leaves Mango

Elena Carasso, responsible for Mango's online launch and one of the greatest experts in fashion e-commerce in Spain, is leaving the company founded by Isak Andic, according to a report by the company. FashionsThe executive leaves the company after more than thirty years—she joined in 1991—and will focus on advising companies in different sectors. Thus,The online and customer management role will be taken over by Marlies Hersbach, who also joins the group's management committee and joined the Carasso department in 2024 to prepare for the succession.

Cellnex appoints Ilaria Pratesi as its new global director of Public Affairs.

The European telecommunications infrastructure operator Cellnex Telecom has appointed Ilaria Pratesi as the group's new Global Head of Public Affairs. Pratesi holds a degree in international relations from the University of Trieste and held decision-making positions at one of the largest federations of the Italian employers' association Confindustria for over ten years. In 2019, she was appointed Head of Public Affairs at A2A, and in 2023, Forbes included her on its list of the ten best Italian lobbyists.

Concha Gil, new Vice President of Sales at Adcities

Adcities, a new outdoor advertising startup projected to reach revenues of over €1 million by 2025, has appointed publicist Concha Gil as its Vice President of Sales. With over 25 years of experience in the marketing and advertising sector, she has held positions as General Manager of Publimedia and Marketing at Páginas Amarillas, where she participated in the company's digital transformation. Gil thus returns to the advertising sector to lead Adcities' commercial strategy.

Baghdadi Capital appoints Carlos Torrens as Chief Transformation Officer.

Baghdadi Capital, the fund founded by Baihas Baghdadi, has appointed Carlos Torrens as Chief Transformation Officer (CTO), with the aim of strengthening its digital and technological transformation strategy at the company's current stage of expansion. Baghdadi Capital is the fund that supports, among others, Trade Working Capital (TWC) in Spain, Higher Bridge Capital (HBC) in the United States, and Tamwuil Capital (TC).

Torrens has held senior roles at companies such as the Oetiker Group and Heineken. Previously, he spent over a decade at Holcim, where he held positions in technology transformation, service management, and IT operations across Europe. Torrens specializes in the development and implementation of key technologies. He has worked closely with leading global providers of applications, infrastructure, and technology services.