Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán said the appointment of a new group chief executive was a “sign of continuity, not revolution” when asked if it pointed to a succession plan at the global green power giant.
Armando Martínez was on Tuesday promoted from his previous role as business CEO to fill the chief executive post held by 72-year-old Galán since he joined Iberdrola in 2001, in a splitting of roles that sees the latter remain as executive chairman after holding both jobs for more than a decade.
Asked by financial analysts discussing Iberdrola’s latest quarterly results if this signalled the formulation of a succession strategy based around Martínez, Galán – one of the highest profile figures in global renewables – replied: “This appointment is a sign of continuity… it was planned some time ago.
“In his new position he will continue to lead the group business and I’m sure he will do as well as he has been doing in recent years. It’s continuity, not a revolution.”
Galán has during his decades in charge steered Iberdrola to green supermajor status in onshore wind, hydropower and more recently solar. The company was a pioneer in offshore wind and is now involved in huge projects around the world, as well as being an early mover in green hydrogen initiatives.
The Spanish group revealed on Wednesday that by the end of September it had a global net renewables capacity of 39.1GW, up almost 5% on the same stage last year, with a 19.9GW onshore wind fleet the biggest single component. It wants to have 95GW of green capacity in place by the end of the decade.
The extra gigawatts helped Iberdrola to increase net profit by 29% to €3.1bn ($3.1bn) at the nine-months stage compared to the same point in 2021, despite pressures on profits in its home market Spain.
Galán said: “We continue to contribute to a more self-sufficient, sustainable and competitive energy system. Accelerating investments in electrification will allow us to be less dependent on the volatility of oil and gas and generate more growth and more jobs, as this set of results show.”
