César Alierta leaves presidency of Telefónica and proposes to his number two – Management Journal

The Board of Directors of Telefónica will consider at its next meeting on April 8, appointing José María Álvarez-Pallete as new CEO of the company.

Cesar Alierta (right) with José María Álvarez-Pallete. (Photo: Reuters)

Madrid ( AFP ) .- The president of Spanish giant of Telefonica, César Alierta , will leave the presidency of the company and propose to replace his number two and current CEO, José María Álvarez-Pallete .

“the Board of Directors of Phone will consider at its next meeting on 8 April, the appointment of Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete as new CEO of the company,” the company said in a statement.

Alierta, 70 and holds the presidency of Phone since the summer of 2000, has proposed Alvarez-Pallete as “the manager more prepared to face successfully the challenges posed by the digital revolution, “the source said.

the Alierta himself had already appointed Alvarez-Pallete as CEO of the company in 2012.

Low the mandate of Alierta, who replaced Juan Villalonga in front of Telefonica, the company began a period of major acquisitions and deepened its international expansion.

in his fifteen years at the helm of Phone , Alierta bought assets of Bell South in Latin America strengthening its presence in the region, which also took hold in Brazil by acquiring 50% of Vivo.

in Europe, made in 2005 with the operator O2 which allowed him to enter the UK, Germany and Ireland.

Alierta also took decisions “as the amortization of licenses UMTS or creating Telefónica Digital, “the company said.

However, the global economic crisis and heavy debt of the company led the company to start since 2012 a series of sales withdrawing from countries such as Ireland, the Czech Republic or Italy.

is also close to leaving the UK after selling in March last year O2 to Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa by 10,250 million pounds (14,000 million euros).

According to Phone , with Alierta, the company became a “leader in major markets that have led to its strategic commitment: Brazil, Germany, Spain and Latin America”.

leading the way in the digital.
Now the chairman of Telefonica gives up the position which he considers “the best director prepared to favor over and position Telefónica once again at the forefront, this time the digital sector, “the company said.

Alvarez-Pallete joined the company in 1999 as CFO of Telefónica Internacional, and then became general manager of corporate finance.

in 2002, he was appointed chairman of Telefonica International and after Telefonica Latin America, where it remained until 2011, when he was appointed CEO of Telefónica Europe.

Just a year later he was appointed CEO of telephone , becoming the number two Alierta.

Alierta remains on the board of telephone and maintain the position of CEO of the Telefónica Foundation.

in 2015, the company posted a profit of 2.745 million euros, representing a decrease of 8.5% over the previous year, due to provisions for a plan of voluntary departures in Spain.