The management of Cellnex replaces its chairman after the entry of a British investor as the first shareholder

Big changes at the top of the company that manages the telecommunications tower. until now Non-executive president of Cellnex Bertrand Kanhe “retired” from this position a few days after British investor Chris Hohn became the first shareholder of this company with 9.03% of the capital and publicly declared for relief in the presidency by Cellnex.

The board of directors of the mentioned company, which met this Monday, appointed Anne Bouverot -another independent director, like Kan- as non-executive chairman following a favorable report from the company’s Nominations Commission, according to what Cellnex told the CNMV, the Spanish stock market watchdog.

However, Kan, who led the Board for two years, will remain an independent director, explained the company, which thanked him for his work during that period.

surrogate

Anne Bouverot, his replacement in the presidency technology companyshe has been an independent director of Cellnex since May 2018 and has developed her professional career at the forefront of the technology and innovation industry, in France and worldwide.

After 19 years in various operational and strategic positions at Orange – in the US, UK and France – she was appointed CEO of GSMA, the global mobile phone industry association, in 2011, a position she held until 2015. , when he was elected CEO of Morpho, a leading provider of security and identification services.

She graduated in mathematics from the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, is a telecommunications engineer and holds a doctorate in artificial intelligence, and is currently the president of Technicolor, one of the world’s leading providers of visual effects and animation services for the global entertainment and media industry. .

Hohn, critical of Cellnex’s course

This movement in the board of directors Spanish listed It comes after it was revealed last week that British investor Chris Hohn had become Cellnex’s first shareholder, increasing his equity stake from 7.08% to 9.03% (adding 3.11% of voting rights attributable to shares and a further 5.91% through financial instruments through the fund he manages, The Children’s Investment Master Fund).

Hohn, an activist investor, sent a letter to the board on March 23 stating that at next June’s general meeting of shareholders, he would request the removal of Cellnex chairman Bertrand Kan and two directors: independent Peter Shore and Singapore sovereign wealth fund equity director Alexandra Reich.

“We think Cellnex is a fantastic company, but in our opinion it cannot reach its full potential because it is holding it back bad corporate governance“, Hohn indicated in his letter.

The aforementioned investor has only 3.11 percent of political rights, but when it exceeds 3 percent, he has the right to raise this request at the shareholders’ meeting.

Cellnex, which concluded with someone in 2022 a loss of 297 million euros18% less than in 2021, and raised revenue to 3,499 million, 38% more, immersed in the search for a CEO to replace Tobías Martínez, head of the group since 2015, who announced in January that he would resign in June.

Martínez will leave Cellnex in accordance with the change of strategy of the said company: after the investment of some 35,000 million euros in acquisitions since the IPOin 2015, now favors organic growth, given the new economic context.

Precisely in relation to this relay, Hohn believes that «insufficient progress“in search of a new president of the management board, thereby “losing confidence” in the three mentioned members of the management board.

Apart from these changes in Cellnex’s stake, the profile of Cellnex’s chairman has so far been that of a manager more suited to the takeover dynamics that have characterized Cellnex in recent years, while Bouverot is seen as a more favorable profile for this new phase of organic growth.

Find a new CEO

In a statement, the new president of Cellnex pointed out that “since its IPO in 2015, the company has grown to become the first an independent operator of telecommunications infrastructure in Europe».

“As announced in November, the company is at the beginning of a new chapter, focused on organic growth and strengthening its balance sheet. The Board fully supports and agrees with this strategy find an heir Tobias Martínez, who announced that he will step down as CEO in June, is a key priority,” added Bouverot, who thanked his predecessor for his commitment.

The new CEO chosen by Cellnex will require the support of 8 out of 11 members of the board, i.e. a strengthened majority.

Despite the changes, the board of directors will continue to consist of eight independent members – among whom is the new president Anne Bouverot-, the owner Edizione – owned by the Benetton family – (which has an 8.2% stake), Christian Coco; and the owner of the Singapore sovereign wealth fund (with 7.03%), Alexandra Reich; alongside Tobías Martínez, CEO.