El Corte Inglés creates a delegated executive committee, CEO leaves the group

El Corte Inglés is restructuring its management. The group has announced the creation of a delegated executive committee and reported that its CEO Víctor del Pozo Gil is leaving the company at his own request and for personal reasons.

Del Pozo had held the position of CEO of El Corte Inglés for the past five years. As a matter of fact, he was re-elected as CEO of the group until 2027 last January. 
 
The board of directors of El Corte Inglés, meeting this Monday in Madrid, unanimously approved the creation of an executive committee comprising five members: the chairwoman, two board members and two general managers.

This new committee, which will be the highest executive body of the company, will be headed by Marta Álvarez Guil, president of the company’s board of directors. 

The aforementioned committee will include secretary general and secretary of the board of directors, José Ramón de Hoces Íñiguez, and Javier Rodríguez-Arias Ambrosini, who has been appointed as a new director of El Corte Inglés by co-option, as well as two new general managers: José María Folache González-Parrado, who rejoins the management team of El Corte Inglés, and Santiago Bau Arrechea.

Folache will be in charge of the retail business while Bau will take over the existing and newly created corporate businesses. Both will report directly to the executive committee.

The company emphasized in a statement that “the new structure aims to strengthen the company's management and promote the board's strategic plan within the framework of the best corporate governance practices.”

A new phase

The company's board of directors considered that in response to the new scenario that emerged after two years of "great complexity" in the macroeconomic environment, it is necessary to begin a new phase that responds to the challenges of the future with a renewed team of professionals specialized in the different areas covered by the group.

The delegated executive committee joins the three existing board committees: the Audit and Control Committee, the Appointments and Remuneration Committee and the Sustainability Committee.

Folache, who has extensive experience in the retail sector, worked for four years (2009-2012) as purchasing manager under Isidoro Álvarez. He has also been vice president and CEO of Carrefour, Tous, Parfois and Joyerías Suárez.

Bau holds a degree in E-3 from ICADE, a degree in Political Science and Sociology from UNED, and an MBA from Harvard University. For the past 15 years, he has been a senior executive at Goldman Sachs and according to the group, has extensive experience in financial management and investment banking.