He replaces Anne Bouverot, who is departing after just under 18 months to serve as the French government’s Special Envoy on AI
Towerco Cellnex’s board agreed to appoint Óscar Fanjul as non-executive chair of the company. Fanjul succeeds Anne Bouverot, who is stepping down as member of the board to focus on the task entrusted to her by French President, Emmanuel Macron, to be the Special Envoy for the Global Artificial Intelligence Action Summit to be held in France in early 2025.
The new chair said he was ready to work with the CEO, Marco Patuano “to improve efficiency, secure growth and prioritise the return of capital to shareholders through dividend and share buy backs.”
Despite only serving for 18 months, Bouverot was in position during a critical time for the company after it embarked on a strategic shift toward cutting debt at the end of 2022. After previously taking advantage of low interest rates to orchestrate a €30 billion buying spree across multiple countries, Cellnex had to change gear – possibly to reverse – as funding became costlier and as acquisitions involving tower companies became less frequent.
Fanjul (above, right), a former founding chair and chief executive officer at Repsol SA, is also vice chair and independent director at Ferrovial SA and a director of Marsh & McLennan Companies. He has been an independent director of Cellnex since June 2023 and member of the capital allocation committee. The has also been chair of Hidroeléctrica del Cantábrico and has been member of the board of directors of the London Stock Exchange, Unilever, Acerinox, BBVA, Areva, Lafarge and Vice Chair of Holcim.
Bouverot (above, centre), a former director general of the GSMA, was appointed as independent director in 2018. In 2023, she was appointed chair of the board and oversaw changes in the company’s corporate governance, the appointment of Marco Patuano (above, left) as CEO and the redefinition of the group’s strategy for the new phase Cellnex was entering into.
EWIA chair
CEO Patuano was appointed the new chair of the trade association of independent wholesale wireless infrastructure providers, the European Wireless Infrastructure Association (EWIA), last month. He succeeded Tobías Martínez Gimeno who stepped down after concluding his mandate on 31 August 2024 and having successfully led the association for the last four years.
The appointment of EWIA’s new chair comes at an “opportune moment” as the new European legislature takes shape and steers the industry towards greater harmonisation of connectivity regulations to foster cross-EU services and expanding networks. This is also in line with Patuano’s vision where he states: “Assuming the role of chair of EWIA is a great honour and responsibility. Together, we will champion connectivity while fostering collaboration and driving sustainable growth across our industry, ensuring a brighter, digital future for Europe.”