The Euskaltel Group proposes a renewed Board of Directors with the inclusion of Ana García Fau and Beatriz Mato
Derio, 25 August 2020. The Euskaltel Group's Board of Directors has unanimously proposed the appointment of Ana García Fau and Beatriz Mato as new independent directors of the company's governing body. With this proposal, the Euskaltel Group is able to adopt the most advanced models to adapt its Board of Directors to Good Corporate Governance standards with regard parity (40% female representation) and independent membership structure.
Ana García Fau and Beatriz Mato have been chosen as the ideal candidates to fill the role of company directors following a selection process led by the company's Appointments Committee, which presented the proposal to the Board of Directors where it received the unanimous support of all members.
The Euskaltel Group's Board of Directors has made the decision to propose the joining of the new female board members, taking into account the professional background of both candidates and their extensive experience and expertise in the telecommunications industry at a local, national and international level.
These appointments come at a crucial time for the Euskaltel Group, which has approved its strategic plan for the next five years and has successfully begun its expansion into the domestic market. Both candidates have the ideal background for this new stage in the company's development, where the strategy is to strengthen its traditional brands in its local markets and to expand nationally, reinforcing the company's leadership in digital transition.
With her broad experience of and expertise in Galicia's business and institutional fabric, Beatriz Mato will help raise the Group's profile in Galicia through its R brand. Ana García Fau, meanwhile, is a recognised professional with an extensive career in business management as well as a board member of many leading international companies in the industry, both listed and unlisted.
Taking into account the Corporate Governance recommendations that seek efficient operation, the active participation of all board members and agile decision making, the Board of Directors has proposed a reduction in the number of board members to ten.
Both proposals -the appointment of the two new female directors and the reduction in board members to ten- must be approved by shareholders at the Group's extraordinary general meeting, which will be held on 29th September.
Until now, the Board of Directors comprised 11 members, although in the case of three of them (Elisabetta Castiglioni, José Ángel Corres and Miguel Ángel Lujua), their tenure has expired.
If the extraordinary general shareholders' meeting in September approves these changes, the independent directors plus the external director will have a majority over the proprietary directors on the Euskaltel Group's Board.
Once approved, the Company's Board of Directors would therefore be comprised of 10 members: 4 proprietary directors, 4 independent directors, one executive director and one external director
Ana García Fau has a degree in Law and Economic and Business Science from the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, ICADE (E-3, specialising in finance). She has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management in Massachusetts.
She is also a member, among other organisations, of the advisory board of DLA PIPER GLOBAL & DLA PIPER INTERNATIONAL, LLP and SALESFORCE.COM IBERIA/EMEA as well as foundations and associations such as International Women Forum Spain.
She has extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, having held various management positions in Telefónica Group and Yell-Hibu, where she held executive roles at TPI-Páginas Amarillas (Yellow Pages), as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development, and was also a member of the Board of Directors of Publiguías-Chile, TPI Perú, Telinver-Argentina and Adquira, among others. At HIBU (formerly YELL) she was CEO for Spain, Latin America and the US Spanish-speaking market, member of its International Executive Committee, as well as Head of Corporate Development and Global Strategy.
Prior to her experience in this industry, she developed her career in Spanish and international companies, including McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs and Wolff Olins.
Ana García Fau is an independent director at the listed companies Merlin Properties, S.A., and Gestamp Automoción S.A., and she is non-executive Chairperson at Finerge.
Beatriz Mato Otero was born in Barakaldo (Bizkaia) in 1965. She has a degree in Industrial Engineering, specialising in business organisation, from the Bilbao Faculty of Industrial Engineers and an MBA from the A Coruña University Business School. She also holds a certificate in Good Corporate Governance from the Spanish Institute of Directors (IC-A) and is a member of the Spanish Association of Female Board Members.
Beatriz Mato has worked for 30 years in the private and public sectors, leading business projects in the technology and consultancy sector for SMEs and multi-nationals and as a minister for the regional government in Galicia.
She has extensive consultancy experience, with particular expertise in introducing quality systems and innovation. She began her career as a systems technician at IBM Spain (1989-1991), moving on to become an IT services sales technician at Rank Xerox (1991-1993) and then a quality engineer at the engineering firm Norcontrol, which is now Applus (1993-1995).
She has broad experience in public management due to her role as minister for the regional government in Galicia, firstly as regional minister for work and welfare from 2009 to 2015 and subsequently as regional minister for the environment and territorial planning from 2015 to 2018. From 2002 to 2005 she was provincial representative for the fisheries department.
From 2009 to 2010 she was chair of Sogaserso S.A. and a member of the Boards of Directors of several public entities in Galicia, such as the A Coruña Port Authority, the Ferrol San Cibrao Port Authority and IGAPE (the Galician institute for economic development) from 2009 to 2018.
Furthermore, as the head of innovation at IGAPE, from 1995 to 2000 she supported companies in Galicia with regard IT and consultancy services, providing advice on economic and financial issues, internationalisation and support for enterprises.
Euskaltel - Communication Department
comunicacion@euskaltel.com