Telefónica appoints Juan Azcue as new financial director to replace Laura Abasolo

The board of directors of Telefónica resolves the replacement of Laura Abasolo by Juan Azcue at the head of the company’s financial management and approves the appointment of Ernesto Gardelliano as director of strategy and control. Likewise, the group also gives more prominence to the CEO, Emilio Gayo, by integrating the purchasing and supply chain functions, as well as alliances and devices.

The movement, advanced days ago by theEconomistwill imply the departure of the Bilbao executive before the end of the year and will leave the organization chart without one of the last visible faces remaining from the previous stage led by José María Álvarez-Pallete. In a statement, the company thanked “his commitment and contribution during his long career in the group”, in addition to wishing him much success in his new professional challenges.

The replacement occurs at a key moment for the signing of the Ibex 35: in the prelude to the strategic plan that it presented in November with the aim of improving its operational efficiency and reducing costs by 3,000 million euros annually until 2030. Regarding this roadmap, Telefónica guarantees that these changes “reinforce its commitment to excellence and innovation, evolving its operating model to ensure the success of the strategic plan.”

To take on this challenge, Telefónica is committed to a profile with extensive experience in M&A operations, for more than 20 yearsin order to strengthen its position in the face of the future consolidation of the sector. Azcue joined Telefónica’s executive committee last January, two decades after joining the group’s mergers and acquisitions team, where he has participated in the execution of historic transactions such as the purchase of O2, the privatization of Cesky Telecom or the acquisition of 50% of VIVO. In 2019 he assumed the direction of said area, and since then he has led the execution of strategic transactions such as the merger of O2 with Virgin Media in the United Kingdom or the sale of Telxius’s tower business.

For its part, Gardeliano’s appointment is motivated by operational simplificationin which strategic planning and operational monitoring are concentrated in the same responsibility. The executive has an extensive international career of almost 30 years in different units and countries of the group, where he has worked in the control and planning area, the financial management of Telefónica Latin America in São Paulo, the strategy and business development management of Telefónica Digital in London, among other areas.