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Javier Faus (born in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain) is a leading Spanish
private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
investor, chairman and founder of the Barcelona-based alternative investment fund management fir
Meridia Capital Partners
Very active in civic associations, he served as Vice Chairman of
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...
(2010 to 2015). From july 2019 until july 2022, he chaired the Cercle d’Economía, a leading Spanish think tank that promotes liberal democracy public policies.


Early life and education

He has a Law Degree from
Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona The Autonomous University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; , es, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona; UAB), is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. ...
, a Masters in International Law from
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
(
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
) and an Executive MBA from
ESADE Business School ESADE Business School is a private college and graduate school located in Barcelona, Spain. It is part of ESADE ( Catalan: ''Escola Superior d'Administració i Direcció d'Empreses'', Spanish: ''Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de ...
(
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
).


Career

Prior to his investment career, Mr. Faus worked as an M&A lawyer in the offices of J&A Garrigues (
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
) and Cuatrecasas Abogados (
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
). In 2001, he led a consortium to acquire HOVISA, the real estate company that owned
Hotel Arts The Hotel Arts is a 44-storey, 483 room luxury hotel on the seafront of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It is operated by Ritz-Carlton. History Contrary to popular belief, it was not built to service the 1992 Summer Olympics, though its constr ...
in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
(
Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...
), amongst other assets. He subsequently became president and minority shareholder for the company. In 2006 he managed the sale of HOVISA to a JV formed by
Host Hotels & Resorts Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in hotels. As of February 19, 2021, the company owned 80 upscale hotels containing approximately 46,500 rooms in the United States, Brazil, and Canada. History I ...
and GIC (Government of
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
). This deal reached, at the time, the highest price ever paid for a single real estate asset in Spain (417 million euros). Between 2003 and 2006, Mr. Faus was managing Partner for Spain and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
at Patron Capital Partners, a
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-based real estate fund manager. In 2006 Mr. Faus founde
Meridia Capital Partners
a private equity fund management firm specialized in private equity and real estate. Its first fund, Meridia I, invested in urban hotel real estate including the W Paris Opéra Hotel, the Four Seasons Hotel in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
, the
Ritz-Carlton Hotel The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...
in
Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
and the
InterContinental Hotel Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG ...
in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
. In 2014 Meridia Capital launched Meridia II (Spain; Value-add; CRE) and subsequently Meridia III (2016) and Meridia IV (2019), all with similar strategies. In 2016
Meridia Capital
made initial investments in the private equity space through its vehicle ''Meridia Private Equity I''. The fund currently has 5 portfolio companies
Sosa IngredientsGrupo AndilanaFutbol EmotionVolotea
and Kipenzi. Additionally Meridia acts, since 2019, as exclusive advisor in Spain and Portugal fo
Franklin Templeton
´s pan-European Social Infrastructure Fund, a fund seeking financial returns while delivering a measurable social and environmental impact. Mr. Faus is also an active business angel in the Spanish start-up arena, having invested in companies such a
CocunatColvin CoAGORA Images
an
WorldCoo
under the umbrella of ''Mnext Venture Capital''. Between 2010 and 2014 he was a member of the board of directors at
Inmobiliaria Colonial Inmobiliaria Colonial is a Spanish multinational corporation, which includes companies in the domains of real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minera ...
, one of the leading public Spanish Real Estate companies. Since 2016 he is a member of the board of directors of Indukern, a leading Spanish pharmaceutical company. Mr. Faus has won several awards, including the 2002 Deal of the Year by Internationa
Hotel Investment Forum
and the SAHIC 2011 Award for Best Investor. On July 24, 2019, Mr. Faus was elected president of the Circle of Economics. Mr. Faus, who was the only candidate, was proclaimed president with 423 favorable votes, 1 vote against and one abstention. Mr. Faus announced the creation of an advisory council that would be led by the outgoing president, Juan José Brugera, and the two former presidents, the professor of the
University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...
, Anton Costas and the former minister of the People's Party,
Josep Piqué Josep Piqué i Camps (born 21 February 1955 in Vilanova i la Geltrú) is a Spanish politician of the right-leaning Spanish People's Party (PP) who represented Barcelona. Pique was initially a member of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSU ...
. He also made public that the new management board would be equally gendered: 10 men and 10 women of renowned prestige.


Controversies

In 1996, Javier Faus received the direct award and the mandate from the president of
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...
at that time,
Josep Lluís Núñez José Luis Núñez Clemente (7 September 1931 – 3 December 2018), often known by the Catalanized form of his name used by the Catalan press, Josep Lluís Núñez i Clemente, was president of FC Barcelona between 1978 and 2000. He was elected ...
, to start up the thematic venue "Màgic Barça" in the Olympic Village of Barcelona. This millionaire investment was firstly planned to replicate it in other clubs of the Spanish premier division. The site did not have the expected success and the failure was spectacular. In 1998, "Màgic Barça" closed the business and the idea was no longer exported to any other club. In June 2005, Javier Faus resigned from the management board of FC Barcelona, which was led by
Joan Laporta Joan Laporta Estruch (; born 29 June 1962) is a Spanish politician and current president of FC Barcelona. Laporta is a lawyer (he graduated from the University of Barcelona) with his own firm, Laporta & Arbós, which has a number of notable Sp ...
, after Sandro Rosell, Josep Maria Bartomeu, Jordi Moix and Jordi Monés did so a few days earlier. Javier Faus argued personal and professional reasons, but his alienation with President Laporta was also decisive and he was marginalized from the club's negotiations to agree on certain sponsorships. In 2010, after the victory of the candidacy presided over by Sandro Rosell to the presidency of FC Barcelona, Javier Faus was appointed economic vice president of the management board, issued the reformulation of the accounts presented by the outgoing management board chaired by Joan Laporta, and promoted social liability actions against the former management board that was approved by the members assembly. In July 2011, the management board filed a lawsuit in court. In October 2014, the court dismissed the claim and determined that the overall result during the Laporta's mandate had been a positive balance. In 2010, Sandro Rosell and Javier Faus had been the main promoters of the sponsorship agreement with
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
to incorporate advertising on FC Barcelona's shirts. Javier Faus and Rosell would have turned a blind eye on the apparent conflict of interests in which they were involved during the negotiation of the agreement. Javier Faus was a board member of
Inmobiliaria Colonial Inmobiliaria Colonial is a Spanish multinational corporation, which includes companies in the domains of real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minera ...
, a company owned by the American fund Colony Capital, which in its turn was the owner of 70% of the
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As ...
. In December 2010, FC Barcelona signed the agreement to sell the shirt's rights to
Qatar Sports Investments Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) is a closed shareholding organization founded in 2005 and based in Doha, Qatar. Revenues generated from ventures of QSi are reinvested into Qatar's sport, leisure and entertainment sectors. QSi is led by Chairman N ...
(QSI) and, six months later, QSI acquired 70% of PSG from
Colony Capital DigitalBridge Group, Inc. is a global digital infrastructure investment firm. The company owns, invests in and operates businesses such as cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Digita ...
. In May 2014, Javier Faus resigned his position as a Colonial CEO, coinciding with his arrival in the real estate of the investment fund
Qatar Investment Authority The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ar, جهاز قطر للإستثمار) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In 202 ...
. In June 2011, Javier Faus announced the reduction of 50% of the budget allocated to other sports sections and the removal of the baseball section as its maintenance was considered unsustainable. This measure caused controversy because it implied a relatively small savings, but also because the management board had promised that would promote the multidisciplinary sports character of the club, during the electoral campaign. In November 2012, Javier Faus announced that, for the forthcoming season, the shirt sponsor would be modified from the Qatar Foundation to
Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netwo ...
in application of one of the clauses of the initial contract. A clause that was unknown either by the journalists or by the Barça partners. Javier Faus admitted that it had been the request from the sponsor, and that it had to be taken into account the loyalty to a collaborating partner. In December 2013, as economic vice president of FC Barcelona, Javier Faus was involved in controversial statements about the renewal of
Leo Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the g ...
that provoked the indignation of Messi's family environment, but also Messi himself had an angry reaction. Javier Faus stated in a radio channel ( RAC1) that: «I would not understand that the club renewed Leo Messi's contract again, because it was extended and improved the previous year» and he recalled: «I do not know why we should do it again, we do not have to submit a contract improvement every six months». Leo Messi replied with expressions like: «Faus does not know anything about football.» «I remember (to Mr. Faus) that neither I nor anyone in my environment has asked for any improvement or renewal» or «Barça is the best team in the world and should be represented by the best leaders». In January 2014, Mr. Faus qualified his statements saying that there had been no bad faith and that: «Sometimes they say things they do not want to say». In November 2014, the former candidate for the presidency of FC Barcelona, Agustí Benedito, stated in a press conference that Faus had interests and business in Qatar while he was belonging to the Barça's management board.  Javier Faus filed a complaint against Benedito, who had refused to retract. The court dismissed the lawsuit and sentenced Javier Faus to pay the court costs.


References


External links


Meridia Capital

Cercle d'Economia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faus, Javier Living people People from Barcelona Autonomous University of Barcelona alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni FC Barcelona non-playing staff ESADE alumni 1964 births