He Yesterday, the Government defended the dismissal of the former president of Telefónica, José María Álvarez-Pallete, who has been replaced by the until now leader of Indra, Marc Murtra: “It was time for the renewal process“, said this Sunday the first vice president of the Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero in statements collected by EP.
In her first press conference as general secretary of the PSOE of Andalusia, at the party’s headquarters in Seville, the minister spoke like this in response to questions from journalists about the change in the presidency of Telefónica, known this past Saturday, when the company announced the termination of José María Álvarez-Pallete as president of the company and announced the appointment of Marc Murtra in front, a profile close to the Government.
The replacement comes after the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI), a public entity attached to the Ministry of Finance and through which the Government owns 10% of Telefónica, activated the process of change in the company’s presidency.
The process began after the purchase of shares by SEPI
As the minister explained yesterday, the process of dismissing Álvarez-Pallete and the search for a new profile for the management began after the Government decided to expand its participation in Telefónica after the entry of STC (the Saudi ‘teleco’) .
“Once that step was considered, the company is in a process of renewing its own direction. It was the renewal process and, therefore, what has been raised by the majority shareholders is the ability to put a person like Marc Murtra in charge, who has demonstrated all his potential in a company as important as Indra, where The stock has appreciated fundamentally in the years he has been at the helm of this company“Montero declared.
Along these lines, the Minister of Finance also stressed that “The professional and good manager profile is indisputable.“by Marc Murtra, whom congratulated him on his appointment at Telefónicaextending this recognition to Álvarez-Pallete for the work carried out at the head of the company in a “very important period.”
It also defends the increase in State participation
On this matter, María Jesús Montero also defended that “it is very important” that Spain has “a technological company that has the capacity to compete in a strong and very competitive market at a European and international level.”
This circumstance, the minister added, motivated “the Government of Spain, at the time, to make the decision to strengthen Telefónica by increasing its participation in this company”, which was public, but was privatized “during the time of the Popular Party” during the Government of José María Aznar, as he pointed out. “Countries like Italy or Germany have a very important participation in their technology companies, also because these companies are increasingly responsible for the country’s security, cybersecurity and the ability to safeguard our assets in terms of defense,” added Montero.
Murtra, a profile close to the Government
He Murtra’s appointment was promoted by SEPIwhich owns 10% of Telefónica’s capital. The manager’s link with the PSOE dates back to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s time as President of the Government, given that Marc Murtra served as chief of staff of the former Minister of Industry between 2006 and 2008, Joan Clos, who was also mayor of Barcelona for the Party of Socialists of Catalonia (PSC).
In this way, Murtra’s arrival at Telefónica will occur in a similar way to his appointment as president of Indra in 2021, a movement also promoted by SEPI, in which he replaced Fernando Abril-Martorell.