By editorial@silicon.com, 11 August 2000 13:55
NEWS Spanish telecom giant Telefonica has appointed its former financial director Fernando Abril-Martorell to the newly created position of chief executive. The 38-year-old executive is expected to bring continuity to the company that has witnessed boardroom upheaval since former chairman Juan Villalonga's departure last month. Cesar Alierta, former co-chairman of Altadis, became Villalonga's direct successor as chairman on 26 July, and according to newswires, the company was expected to nominate a chief executive to become Alierta's second in command. Abril-Martorell was considered the favourite to take on this role, and share prices rose four per cent following his appointment. Formerly with US investment bank JP Morgan, Abril-Martorell had been Telefonica's financial director for two years and chairman of its yellow pages unit (TPI). Abril-Martorell quit his FD position in September 1999 and unexpectedly walked out of the group in June 2000. Industry watchers speculated that his exit was prompted by professional differences between Abril-Martorell and Villalonga. Villalonga resigned under allegations of insider dealings, and although Villalonga was later cleared of the charges, local papers speculated the telco's core shareholders - banks Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and La Caixa - were behind the boardroom coup. Abril-Martorell's appointment was one of a number of executive changes within the group to restore a power-sharing team ethic to Spain's largest telecoms company.
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