CELSA Group appoints Hilario Albarracín, Elena Guede, Juan José Nieto, and Mario Longhi as new members of the Board of Directors
- The new directors will be ratified at the next board meeting, that will take place on April 9th.
- These appointments respond to the shareholders’ goal of providing the company with top-tier leaders, who could help navigate the steelmaker into a new stage of growth and prosperity.
Barcelona, March 5th 2024.- CELSA Group, Europe’s leading company in the production of low-emission circular steel, has appointed four independent members to its Board of Directors: Hilario Albarracín, Elena Guede, Juan José Nieto and Mario Longhi. The new positions will be ratified at the Shareholders’ Meeting that will take place on April 9th at the company’s headquarters in Castellbisbal (Barcelona).
Hilario Albarracín, who holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Complutense University of Madrid, has been chairman and CEO of KPMG in Spain, where he spent most of his professional career. He became a partner in 1996 and a member of its Management Committee since 2004.
As a member of the Official Register of Account Auditors and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Spain, Albarracín has developed his career in the areas of auditing and corporate transactions and is an expert in economic and financial due diligence. He is currently a director and independent advisor in different corporations and private equity management firms.
Elena Guede is Senior Vice President of Sustainability Strategy at Cement and Roadstone Holding (CRH). Guede holds a global position at a leading building materials and products company, operating in 29 countries and employing 75,800 people.
Guede was the first woman to run a cement factory in Spain, and she was also the first to do so in the CRH group. She has more than 28 years of experience in the cement and construction materials sector, being linked to general management in different areas. She currently sits on the board of directors of Aplicaciones Minerales and is a trustee of the Tecnalia Foundation.
On the other hand, Juan José Nieto, who holds a Business degree from ICADE, is the founder and president of Arcano Partners, an independent international financial advisory and asset management firm. Nieto is also executive chairman of NK5 and the Baux Group, and founder of the AYO Foundation.
After completing his studies at the London Business School and Stanford University, he began his professional career at the London headquarters of Goldman Sachs and, later, at Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank. Nieto has been Project & Strategic Alliances Director at Telefónica, has been CEO of Antena 3, president of Telefónica Media, Vía Digital, and has been part of the Executive Committee at Telefónica, He also directed Service Point. Nieto is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Banco Sabadell, Aluman, Havas Media, Cerberus, and Sogeviso.
Finally, Mario Longhi, who has been president and CEO of U.S. Steel and Gerdau AmeriSteel, and president of Alcoa Wheels International, joins CELSA Group as an independent director. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Harsco Corporation, Howmet Aluminium Castings and ITT. He currently serves on the boards of Nikola Labs, Avinia Clear Hydrogen and UGI Corporation.
With a degree in engineering from the Mauá Institute in São Paolo and a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering, Longhi has extensive experience in the management and strategic transformation of companies in the metal sector, both in the United States and in Europe and Brazil.
The new Board of CELSA Group also includes Rafael Villaseca as chairman of the group, Jordi Cazorla, current CEO of the company, and Daniel Alaminos as secretary of the board. The new appointments are aimed to provide CELSA with a team of recognized national and international top-leaders, who will help the company achieve a solid and benchmark growth and prosperity.
Sobre CELSA Group
CELSA Group is Europe’s first low-emission circular steel producer with the largest circular supply chain in Europe. It recycles ferrous scrap to produce steel in electric arc furnaces, using the most sustainable and energy-efficient technology.
The company is made up of several business groups and has 120 work centres, 7 steel mills, 12 rolling mills and 48 recycling plants (circular hubs), as well as processing and distribution companies, which generate direct, indirect and induced employment for more than 70,000 professionals in Europe. It is present in Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Ireland.
The group works to solve the planet’s greatest systemic risks: resource depletion and the fight against climate change. To this end, it has set itself the objectives of reducing its CO2 emissions by 50% and reaching 98% circularity by 2030 and completing its circularity and becoming a Net Positive company by 2050.
For more information:
Rosario Correro
Tel. +34 654 58 83 07
rcorrero@kreab.com
