The president of Agbar and vice-president of Veolia assumes the position of the holding company of the “la Caixa” Foundation
Criteria’s board of directors agreed this Thursday on the appointment of Ángel Simón from Manres as the new CEO of the “la Caixa” Foundation business group. Simón, who is the executive president of Agbar and vice-president of Veolia, will replace Marcelino Armenter, who will leave his duties on January 31. The board of directors has expressed its gratitude to Armenter for his “dedication and work as the company’s first executive in recent years”. Simón joined Agbar in 1995 and has held several positions of responsibility within the company.
Isidre Fainé, renewed as president of Criteria for another four years
In the same meeting, the renewal of Isidre Fainé, also from Manres, as president of Criteria for another four years was also approved. Fainé, who is also president of the “la Caixa” Foundation, sole shareholder of CriteriaCaixa, has in recent years led a stage of “consolidation” of the holding as the first shareholder of strategic companies such as Caixabank and Naturgy, and has reorganized and diversified the portfolio of assets, which have a gross value of 26,000 million euros.
Ángel Simón’s career, from Portugal to Chile and from Suez to Veolia
Ángel Simón is the top manager of Agbar, where he joined in 1995 as the company’s representative in Portugal. Throughout his career, he has held various responsibilities within the company and has developed part of his career abroad, such as in Chile (1999) to take charge of Aguas Andinas, which belongs to the same group and one of the most prominent water management companies in Latin America. In 2002 he assumed the general management of Agbar and in 2010 he was appointed executive president. He has also been executive vice-president of Suez (2013-2022) and manager of the AMB (1989-1995).
Marcelino Armenter, a career linked to “la Caixa” since 1985
Marcelino Armenter, for his part, has developed his career at “la Caixa” since 1985 in different positions and responsibilities. Between March 2013 and March 2019 he was general director of CriteriaCaixa and has been a member of the board of directors of the Caixabank holding company since that year. He was also a member of the executive committee since its establishment in July 2019.
Juan José López Burniol, first vice president of Criteria
The board of directors has also proposed the appointment of Juan José López Burniol as first vice-president of Criteria. Until now, López Burniol was a member of the CriteriaCaixa board and is also vice president of the “la Caixa” Foundation.
Renewal of the councilors and budget for 2024
On the other hand, the proposal to renew the councilors José Antonio Asiáin, Marcos Contreras, Jean-Louis Chaussade, Isabel Estapé, Josep-Delfí Guardia and Francesc Homs for another four years has also been approved. The new composition will be definitively approved once the “la Caixa” Foundation’s Board of Trustees approves it on February 15. On the other hand, the budget for 2024 will be 600 million euros, 12% more than last year, when it reached 538 million euros. In the last 15 years, Criteria has allocated 7,000 million to social, scientific, educational and cultural initiatives.
