Fernando Candela, new president of Iberia to replace Sánchez-Prieto

2023-05-04 19:01:27

IAG has appointed Fernando Candela as president and CEO of Iberia, replacing Javier Sánchez-Prieto, who has decided to face, by his own decision, “new personal projects outside the aeronautical industry”.

This was explained by the ‘holding’ in a statement this Thursday, adding that Candela will lead Iberia from July until the end of 2023 to end his professional career in the Iberia group.

Candela has been CEO of Level since 2019 and Director of Transformation at IAG since 2020. He was CEO of Iberia Express for six years and, previously, among other positions, he was Director of Planning and Management Control at Air Nostrum.

With almost thirty years of experience in the aviation sector, Candela is an industrial engineer from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and has completed various training programs for executives at centers such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Instituto de Empresa (IE) or the IESE. Throughout his professional life he has also worked in companies such as Uralita or Andersen Consulting.

“There is, of course, no better ending to my professional career than directing Iberia, the leading airline in Spain and one of the most prominent companies in the country, an example of efficiency in the international arena,” Candela assured.

Among his first tasks in the company will be to address the repayment of Iberia’s debt and continue with the negotiations to complete the purchase of Air Europa by IAG, an operation in which Candela has participated these months under the leadership of the CEO of IAG , Luis Gallego.

“Fernando Candela is an extraordinary professional and has been a key player in IAG and in the Iberia Group”, Gallego has alleged, who assures that he is “the best person to lead Iberia in the coming months”.

For his part, Javier Sánchez-Prieto has announced that he will take on new professional projects outside the industry after a twelve-year career in the group, where he has led Iberia and Vueling and has been part of the management and founding team of Iberia Express.

«It has been an honor for me to be in charge of Iberia these years. I feel very proud to have been part of the team that has managed to continue with the transformation of Iberia to make it one of the best companies in the world,” said Sánchez-Prieto.