Telefonica asppoints Jose MarÃa Alvarez-Pallete as COO, shifts top managers
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In February 1999 Mr. Alvarez-Pallete joined the Telefonica Group as a General Manager of Finance for Telefonica Internacional, S.A. In September of the same year it was given the post of General Manager of Corporate Finance in Telefonica. In July 2002 he was appointed Chairman and CEO of Telefonica Internacional. In July 2006, Managing Director of Telefonica Latin America and Chairman and in Mach 2009, CEO of Telefonica Latin America.
Since the 5th of September 2011 Mr. Alvarez-Pallete is Chairman and CEO of Telefonica Europe and Member of the Board of Telefonica, S.A., position that holds since July 2006. He is also one of Members of the Telefonica Executive Committee. He began his professional career with Auditors Arthur Young in 1987, before joining Benito & MonjardÃn / Kidder, Peabody & Co. in 1988.
After that, in 1995, he joined the Company of Cementos Portland (Cemex) as head of the Investor Relations and Studies Department. In 1996, he was promoted to Financial Manager for Spain and in 1998, to General Manager for Administration and Finance responsible for the Cemex Group´s interests in Indonesia and member of the Board of Cemex Asia, Ltd.
Mr. Alvarez-Pallete has a degree in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid. He also studied Economics at the Free University of Brussels, in Belgium, holds an international Management Programme from IPADE and an Advance Research Degree from the Complutense University of Madrid.
The company also announced that Eva Castillo, a member of the board of directors, has been appointed Chairwoman and CEO of Telefonica Europe, while maintaining her position on the Board of Telefonica S.A.
Ms. Castillo is 1st Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Telefonica Czech Republic, member of the Board of Directors of Old Mutual, and member of the board of the Comillas-ICAI Foundation. Until December 2009, she headed Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management business operations in EMEA region. She is a member of the Merrill Lynch EMEA Executive Committee, the Global Wealth Management Executive and Operating Committees.
Prior to the mentioned position, Ms. Castillo served as head of Merrill Lynch Global Markets & Investment Banking in Iberia as well as President of Merrill Lynch Spain, and before that as Chief Operating Officer for Equity Markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Ms. Castillo joined Merrill Lynch in 1997 as head of Equity Markets for Spain and Portugal. In 1999 she was promoted to Country Manager for Spain and Portugal and in 2000 she became CEO of Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Espana. Before joining Merrill Lynch, she worked for Goldman Sachs in London for five years in the International Equity Markets Department.
Prior to that, Ms. Castillo worked for five years at the Spanish broker Beta Capital in the Sales and Equity Research Department. She holds BA Degrees in Business, Economics and Law from Universidad Pontificia de Comillas in Madrid.
The company also announced that Santiago Fernández Valbuena, chairman and CEO of Telefonica Latinoamérica, was appointed to the board of Telefonica S.A.
Mr. Valbuena joined Telefonica in 1997 as CEO of Fonditel, the pensions and asset manager of the Telefonica Group. From 2002 to 2010 he has been Group CFO. Over that period he has held additional responsibilities, as Procurement, IT and Human Resources, Corporate Development, and Affiliates. He was also Chief Strategy Officer, overseeing Group Strategy, Finance and Corporate Development. Today he is CEO of Telefonica Latinoamerica.
Prior to joining Telefonica Mr. Valbuena was Managing Director of Société Générale Valores and Head of Equities at Beta Capital in Madrid. He graduated as an Economist from Universidad Complutense n Madrid and a PhD and Master (MS) in Economics from Northeastern University in Boston.
The company also announced that Sir David Arculus has resigned from the board of directors.
Sir David is a Director of Pearson, Plc. He serves as Chairman of Numis, plc. and Aldermore Bank, Plc. From 1998 to 2004, he was Chairman of Severn Trent Plc. From 1998 to 2001, he was Chairman of IPC Group Limited. From 2004 to January 2006, he served as Chairman of O2 plc. (now Telefonica Europe, Plc.).
Sir David holds a Master's in Engineering Science & Economics from Oriel College and a Master's in Business Administration from the London Business School. He was awarded an Hon. Doctorate (D. Univ) by the University of Central England in 2003.
The company also announced that Julio Linares will continue on the Board as Third Vice President, in a non-executive capacity.
Mr. Linares is a telecommunications engineer who joined Telefonica's R&D Centre in May 1970 and held various positions there before being appointed Head of Telefonica's Technology department in 1984. In April 1990 he was appointed General Manager of Telefonica Investigación y Desarrollo (Telefonica I + D). In December 1994 he became Deputy General Manager of Telefonica's Marketing and Services Development department, in the commercial area, subsequently moving to the position of Deputy General Manager for Corporate Marketing.
In July 1997 Mr. Linares was appointed CEO of Telefonica Multimedia, and President of Telefonica Cable and Producciones Multitematicas. In May 1998 he was appointed General Manager of Strategy and Technology in Telefonica, S.A.'s Corporate Centre. He has been Executive Chairman of Telefonica de Espana since January 2000. In June 2005 he was appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Cesky Telecom.
In December 2005 Mr. Linares became Managing Director for Coordination, Business Development and Synergies in Telefonica S.A., where he was also a Member of the Board of Directors and Secretary for the Executive Committee.
In December 2007 Mr. Linares was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Telefonica, S.A. He is a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee in Telecom Italia. He is also a member of the Board of Directors in Telefonica de Espana, Telefonica Móviles Espana, and Telefonica Europe. He is member of the Advisory Board in Telefonica Latinoamérica and the Social Council of the Complutense University of Madrid.
The company also announced the appointment of Eduardo Navarro de Carvalho, Director of Strategy and Alliances of the Company, as a member of the Executive Committee of Telefonica.
Mr. de Carvalho has served as Member of the Board of Directors of Telefonica Brasil. SA since November 7, 2011. Previously, he also held this position at the Company between 2006 and 2007 and was Vice-President of Regulation and Business with Operators from March 23, 2004 to 2006. ■