José Manuel Entrecanales Domecq (born 1 January 1963) is a Spanish businessman and former banker. In 2004, he succeeded his late father as

chairman and CEO The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energy, produces 21 t ...

, a global leader in infrastructure, renewable energy and water. In 2019, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' ranked him the 85th richest person in Spain, estimating his personal wealth at US$362 million, although his family fortune is estimated at around US$3.6 billion. Entrecanales has been highlighted as a key leader of a new generation of Spanish businessmen "shaped by family roots but identifying fully with modernisation". He is a firm advocate of the fight against

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

at a corporate level, which earned him the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

, as well as being asked to speak frequently at global forums, including the 2019 UN Climate Change Conference.

Biography

José Manuel Entrecanales was born 1 January 1963 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

to an influential family of businessmen. His father was José María Entrecanales y de Azcárate, Chairman of

(son of José Entrecanales e Ibarra, co-founder of the company) and his mother, Blanca Domecq y Zurita, was the daughter of the 2nd Viscount of Almocadén. Entrecanales read Economics at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university lo ...

. In 1985, he began his career as an investment banker at

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment banki ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and later,

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 ...

. Between 1995 and 2007, he was chairman of

Vodafone España Vodafone España, S.A.U. is a mobile telecommunications operator in Spain headquartered in Madrid. The company was founded in 2000, as a result of the merger of the shares held by Vodafone Group and British Telecommunications plc BT Group p ...

and between 2007 and 2009 he shared the presidencies of

Endesa Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...

and Acciona.

Personal life

Entrecanales is married to María Carrión, and has 4 children: José, Gonzalo, Clotilde and Gerardo. His three sons attended

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. He is a polo enthusiast as well as a keen golfer with a 5,2 handicap, practising both sports at Puerta de Hierro.

Professional career

He began his career in 1985 in

, sharing his time between

and

. He moved to Acciona in 1991. In 1995, the family business bought a majority share package of a mobile company called

Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (Trade name, d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as w ...

and José Manuel Entrecanales was named CEO in 2000, replacing Juan Abelló. In 2003,

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

bought Acciona’s shares of Airtel and Entrecanales was the CEO of Vodafone Spain up until October 2007. In 2004, he inherited the presidency of the Acciona Group from his father. As CEO of Acciona, José Manuel Entrecanales has transformed the construction and engineering company into a global infrastructure, energy and water services company with more than 40,000 employees in 65 countries. In 2007, Acciona bought 25% of Endesa and Entrecanales was named its CEO until they sold its shares in 2009.

Distinctions

An advocate of sustainable development and the fight against climate change, José Manuel Entrecanales is a member of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders of the World Economic Forum, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the

United Nations Global Compact The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to encourage businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The UN Global Compact is a princ ...

LEAD and the Corporate Leaders Group for Climate Change. In addition, José Manuel Entrecanales is a Trustee of the Princess of Asturias Foundation, the Princess of Girona Foundation, the Prado Museum and the Alalá Foundation, as well as Vice President of the Fundación Pro CNIC and the Instituto de Empresa Familiar. He is Chairman of acciona.org, a foundation dedicated to promoting universal access to water and energy. In 2009, he created the Fundación José Manuel Entrecanales Innovación y Emprendimiento para la innovación en sostenibilidad, which, among other things, acts as a business angel for companies to help them improve the use of resources (energy, water, etc.). He has invested in Worldsensing, Waynabox4, Onyx Solar, DEXMA, Aida Centre5, Redbooth, Change your Flight, Biicode and Saluspot.

Honours

* Japan:

(2018) * Sorolla Medal (2017) from the Hispanic Society of AmericaEntrecanales, Medalla Sorolla 2017 por su contribución a la cultura hispánica - 13 October 2017
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References