The stratospheric professional leap of a Spanish executive has marked the week. Amparo Moraleda will be appointed president of the aeronautical giant Airbus next October, thus breaking with the Franco-German tradition that until now pursued the highest office in the European consortium. Executive functions, however, will remain in the hands of the CEO, the Frenchman Guillaume Faury. On the other hand, continuity will continue in another company in the aeronautical sector: this week Maurici Lucena has been re-elected president of Aena for another four years, until 2030.

Amparo Moraleda will be the first Spanish president in the history of the Aribus board of directors, as reported by El País and confirmed by the aeronautics giant to ARA. With her appointment (to be ratified in October), it will be the first time that the European consortium's board of directors will not be chaired by a French or German executive.

In a year like 2025, with record stock market gains, the main executives of the Ibex companies, the main benchmark of the Spanish equity market, overwhelmingly earned very significant incomes, further widening the gap with the average earnings of their staff. The link between remuneration and stock performance contributed to boosting the incomes of many senior executives. A clear example was Manuel Manrique, president of Sacyr, who topped the rankings by earning 32.6 million euros, 384.59% more than the previous year, thanks to a bonus for the company's stock market rise since the pandemic. As a consequence of this plan, this executive, one of the founders of Sacyr, multiplied his remuneration of around 6.7 million from 2022, 2023, and 2024. The fact is that Manrique's remuneration was 628 times the average earned by the company's staff, which is around 52,000 euros, according to the directors' remuneration report published by this company.

Concern. Top executives from Ibex companies attending the Davos Economic Forum met with the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, and the Minister of Digital Transformation, Óscar López, and conveyed their concern "about the crisis" triggered by US President Donald Trump with Europe, according to sources. This meeting in the Swiss city has been held in previous years with President Pedro Sánchez, who did not attend Davos this year due to the mourning caused by the train accident in Córdoba.

The president of the Spanish Confederation of Managers and Executives (CEDE), Isidre Fainé, today urged business leaders to anticipate market trends "without losing sight of the company's social purpose." During the closing ceremony of the organization's 24th congress in Zaragoza, the president of the La Caixa Foundation and Criteria called for leadership marked by "humanistic and social values" to contribute to a more inclusive growth model. "Change is constant, and the speed at which it occurs forces us to be in a state of permanent adaptation," he said. He noted that "we are living in a time of great technological, economic, and social transformations," and in this environment, "strategic planning is essential, but it will only be effective if it is accompanied by flexibility, rapid response, and a comprehensive vision." Throughout his speech, Fainé explained many challenges that can bring opportunities and that arise from "major global forces, such as the European integration process, growing social inequalities and political polarization, international geopolitical conflicts, climate change, the demographic transition, and, of course, the technological revolution." Fainé stated that "today, business leaders are expected not only to be efficient, but also to set an example and demonstrate social commitment." He added, "Corporate legitimacy is increasingly built on its social utility." Fainé urged executives to take action so that companies become "engines of progress and vectors of social cohesion" and contribute to "a fairer, more inclusive, and more sustainable society." In his view, leaders must "treat people with respect, think long-term while remaining mindful of the short term, and anticipate future needs." One of the key elements, he added, is innovation. And he expressed his conviction that the prosperity of society "will not be determined by machines, markets, regulations, or artificial intelligence, but will depend on our human capacity to think and act with meaning, wisdom, purpose, and with heart."

A new opportunity has arisen for Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo to become president of the Eurogroup, now that the current president, Paschal Donohoe, has resigned to head the World Bank. Air Europa also has a new CEO following the departure of Jesús Nuño de la Rosa, and Josep Santacreu will be the new president of ASCAME. These are the week's most notable appointments:

Jaume Puig's move to become director of the Catalan investment group GVC Gaesco and the changes at the top of Seat are the main executive moves among the business community this week, in which Caja de Ingenieros ratified a new term for its president, Félix Masjuan. Also noteworthy are the appointments at Eroski, Lorena Canals, and Culmia.

He Catalan Salvador García-Ruiz has been in the news this week because he made the jump from Indra to Telefónica, another signing by the president of Telefónica (and formerly Indra), Marc Murtra, who since taking office at the beginning of the year has hired several people from the defense company. This week also saw notable appointments at the funeral home Mémora, the airline EasyJet, and the fund managers CaixaBank Asset Management and Invivo.

Salvador García-Ruiz, formerly CEO of ARA and currently the General Manager of Indra in Catalonia, will succeed Eduardo Navarro as Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing of the multinational telephone and telecommunications company Telefónica.

When talking about great magnates in Spanish history, the figure of Juan March Ordinas inevitably comes to mind, the Mallorcan who was described as the last pirate of the Mediterranean and who was a key figure in the victory of Franco's army during the Civil War. It is said that, at his peak, he was one of the richest men in the world, so much so that the fortune he bequeathed to future generations remains one of Spain's greatest assets. But when he was trying to become a millionaire businessman through a pig farm and tobacco smuggling, both activities undertaken by his father, the Salas family was already a well-established fortune that had dominated Mallorca for generations. The Salas son, who, curiously, was born the same year as March, would be the main enemy of this rising magnate, and the clashes between the two would often be public and notorious. Our protagonist was part of that local aristocracy that March considered lazy.

More news at Indra, which continues to reshuffle its leadership after its former president, Marc Murtra, left the company to lead Telefónica. Now, Indra has hired Josep Borrell's former advisor in Brussels as chief of staff to the company's president and CEO. There are also developments in the Packaging Cluster, Mango, and the Catalan Association of Family Businesses, among others.

Spanish executive Pablo Isla has been appointed global chairman of the Swiss multinational food company Nestlé, the company announced in a statement issued Wednesday. Isla will take office in April 2026, replacing Paul Bulcke.

This week's executive transfer market highlights the appointment of lawyer Emma Gumbert as the new Consul Major of the Consolat de Mar, the first woman in history to hold this position. Furthermore, the Telefónica Foundation has a new executive chairman, Inditex has a new general manager, and Illy has appointed a new leader for Spain.

The Easter holidays haven't stopped the avalanche of appointments. Jordi Gual, until now president of VidaCaixa, announced his new professional project shortly before the end of his term at the insurance company. Likewise, Cellnex has a new Nordic leadership, Grans Hotels de Catalunya appoints a new president, and CECA has a new general manager. These are the most notable moves of the week:

Antoni Pont (Tàrrega, 1934) receives the ARA Award at his home in Reus. This morning he did an hour of gymnastics and doesn't look his almost 91 years old. Surrounded by memories and photographs from a lifetime (with Henry Kissinger, George Bush Sr., Juan Carlos I, John Paul II, Felipe González, Bill Clinton, José María Aznar, Felipe VI, and Leo Messi, among many others), he reviews his career and that of the family business, an agricultural giant of his. Four people were in charge; he was only president because he was the oldest.

A week of departures into the business world, with Francisco Reynés leaving the board of directors of Veolia being the most notable, and several signings in human resources departments. There are also notable additions at Nestlé and Mediaset.

You may have often wondered about the origin of the name of the Can Vidalet neighbourhood in Esplugues de Llobregat. In fact, in the same neighbourhood there is a park of the same name, the Can Vidalet Park, a green lung of almost four hectares. The answer to all this can be found in a family estate that had been in the area since 1863: Josep Vidal Ribas, a key businessman in 19th century Catalonia active in various sectors, especially the chemical sector.

In May 2020, in the midst of the pandemic and the beginning of the de-escalation of confinement, a historic news item occurred in the world of Spanish construction: the firm Agromán, which had almost a century of history behind it, disappeared forever after its owner, the still former lasis, decided to form the former Ferrovial nation. Thus, Ferrovial Agromán was renamed Ferrovial Construcción and, suddenly, ninety-three years of history were wiped out. By the way, there will probably be people who think that the name of the extinct construction company had some relation to the agricultural world, but nothing could be further from the truth, as we will see later.

Changes at the top of Seeliger and Conde. The founder of the Barcelona-based headhunting firm, Luis Conde, will once again serve as executive president. According to ARA, this is not the only change the company will experience: the current CEO, Eduardo Antunovic, will lose that status and will become just a director. Antunovic began to play this role after Luis Conde sold the company he had founded in the late 1980s with Gerardo Seeliger to the New York multinational Kingsley Gate in 2023.

On February 4, media around the world reported the death of the Aga Khan, the leader of the Nizari sect of Shiites. Today, the figure of the Aga Khan is surely no longer glamorous. The Aga Khan V is a title of the past, but a few decades ago this religious leader was a character who frequently appeared in the society pages of the written press, which gave him great popularity. In Karim's case, he had held the title since 1957, after the death of his grandfather, Sultan Mahommed Shah. Curiously, his father never held the title of Aga Khan, but there was a generational leap, very similar to that of the Spanish monarchy. Now, with Karim's death, the brand new Aga Khan V is his son Rahim al-Hussaini.