Who is Rafael del Pino, the president of Ferrovial?

Rafael del Pino Calvo-Sotelo He was the president Railwaya family company founded by his father in 1952, but he is also one of the most prominent faces of the Spanish business scene and third wealth in the country with a heritage exceeding 3,800 million euros. Born in Madrid in 1958, he is the son of businessman Rafael del Pino Moreno and Ana Maria Calvo-Sotelo, sister of former Prime Minister Leopold Calvo-Sotelo, who besides Rafael had four more children: Maria, Joaquín, Leopold and Fernando.

Following the family tradition, Rafael del Pino, who shared the name with his late father, decided to study engineering. He decided on Roads, canals and ports. Like his father, his grandfather Fernando del Pino was also an engineer and one of the founders of the Madrid Philharmonic Society.

A life connected to the company

A serious and discreet man, the life of Rafael del Pino Jr. he is inextricably linked with the company he inherited from his father, who retired in 2000 and handed over the conductor’s baton of Ferrovial to his son Rafael, who was the director of the group. CEO since 1992, before taking the helm he went through Cintra, the group’s concession subsidiary between 1998 and 2009, and was a direct witness to the company’s debut on the Spanish stock market in 1999.

The story of Railway It would not be the same without a series of investments that marked the future of the group that has become one of the leading infrastructure brands through its highways, airports and construction divisions. Among them, the Bilbao-Behovia highway in 1968, which meant entering a new business; purchase of Agromán (1995) after the inclusion of Spain in Europe; the acquisition of the ETR 407 freeway in Toronto in mid-1999; the purchase of the British urban services company Amey in 2003 and the Spanish company Cespa and the takeover bid of BAA in June 2006, thanks to which it continued to manage Heathrow Airport, UK.

the first shareholder

In addition to guiding Ferrovial’s strategy, Del Pino is the main individual shareholder of the group through his Dutch holding company Rijn Capital, with which he controls 20.4%. In August 2015, the Del Pino family reorganized the shareholding structure of Ferrovial, which it had until then controlled through its companies Portman Baela and Karlovy.

The company has made internationalization its trademark and its turnover abroad is more than 80%. Focusing on North America, the company operates road concessions in the United States and Canada. In addition, it is a leading player in the UK airport sector. Following the sale of its services arm and a new CEO, the company is embarking on a new journey that includes moving its headquarters to the Netherlands, where it will debut on the stock market, followed by a US listing, a decision that has generated much excitement.

The group led by Del Pino, who has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout his professional career, will continue to maintain operations and employment in Spain and will be listed on the main selective Spanish stock market, Ibex 35.