Fernando Candela assumes the temporary command of the airline from this Monday after the departure of Sánchez-Prieto
MADRID, 16 (EUROPA PRESS)
Fernando Candela will assume the temporary command of Iberia from this Monday after the departure of Javier Sánchez-Prieto as president and CEO, as confirmed by sources from the airline to Europa Press.
Sánchez-Prieto announced last May that he was resigning from his position by his own decision, joining as CEO of the group specialized in assisted reproduction Ivirma starting this month.
“There is, of course, no better finishing touch for my professional career than directing Iberia, the leading airline in Spain and one of the most outstanding companies in the country, a true example of efficiency in the international arena,” Candela said last May.
Candela has been CEO of Level since 2019 and has been Director of Transformation at IAG since 2020. In addition, he was CEO of Iberia Express for six years and, previously, among other positions, he was Director of Planning and Management Control at Air Nostrum.
With almost thirty years of experience in the aviation sector, he is an industrial engineer from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and has completed various training programs for executives at centers such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Instituto de Empresa (IE) or IESE. . Throughout his professional life he has also worked in companies such as Uralita or Andersen Consulting.
On the other hand, after more than a decade linked to the commercial aviation sector, where he has been CEO of Vueling and Iberia, Sánchez-Prieto will lead the Spanish multinational that was founded in Valencia in 1995 and that since then has helped to create more than 250,000 children around the world.
“It has been an honor for me to be in charge of Iberia these years. I feel very proud to have been part of the team that has managed to continue with the transformation of Iberia into one of the best companies in the world,” Sánchez-Prieto said in a statement.
IAG SEEKS SUITABLE SUBSTITUTE
During the presentation of the quarterly results with the media, the CEO of the ‘holding’, Luis Gallego, reported that this temporary appointment of Candela gives the company room to “think about the future” and what they want from so.
“It is an important decision to find who is going to take Iberia to the next phase, because a process like this has to be done well and it is one of the most important in the group,” he added.
Meanwhile, among Candela’s first tasks at the helm of the company will be to address the repayment of Iberia’s debt and continue with the negotiations to complete the purchase of Air Europa by IAG, an operation in which he has participated these months under the Galician leadership.
“Fernando Candela is an extraordinary professional and has been a key player in IAG and in the Iberia Group,” said Gallego, who assured that he is “the best person to lead Iberia in the coming months.”
