(Bloomberg) -- Cellnex Telecom SA’s non-executive Chair Anne Bouverot is stepping down after a year heading the Spanish tower company as it went through a shift in strategy.
Bouverot is leaving the role due to recently being appointed by the French government as a special envoy for the Global Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, Cellnex said in a filing on Tuesday. Oscar Fanjul, who joined the board as an independent director in 2023, is the new chair.
Cellnex embarked on a strategic shift toward cutting debt at the end of 2022. After previously taking advantage of low interest rates to orchestrate a €30 billion ($33 billion) buying spree, it pursued the new strategy as funding became costlier and as mergers and acquisitions involving tower companies ground to a halt.
Fanjul, a former chair and chief executive officer at Repsol SA, is also vice chair and independent director at Ferrovial SA. Fanjul said he would work to “boost efficiency, ensure growth and prioritize the return of capital to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks,” according to a press release from Cellnex.
Bouverot, who joined Cellnex’s board in 2018, was appointed chair in 2023 after activist investor Chris Hohn pushed for changes at the firm.
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