Grupo Catalana Occidente rearranges its upper management

"The insurer has announced three new appointments to its Management Committee, which will become effective on 1 January 2023, following the retirement of Francisco José Arregui."

Grupo Catalana Occidente has announced the incorporation of three new members to its Management Committee, which will take effect on 1 January. The appointments are framed within an orderly process of succession in the insurance group's upper management, which is being carried out following the announcement of Francisco José Arregui's upcoming retirement, the company's CEO since 2001.

Therefore, as of the day that the group's CEO retires, Clara Gómez, currently the deputy general manager of Actuarial Function and Risk Control, will lead the Directorate General of Finance - Risks. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Actuarial and Financial Studies from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Bachelor's Degree in Law from the Autonomous University of Madrid, and is a State Insurance Inspector and Accounts Auditor (ROAC - Spanish Official Register of Accounts Auditor). She also completed the course Advance Management Program (AMP) at IESE. In 2015 she joined Grupo Catalana Occidente as Solvency Director. She previously held the position of coordinator of inspection groups and head of solvency in the General Directorate of Insurance and Pensions.

Joaquín Guallar, the current deputy general manager of Legal Services and the Secretariat of Grupo Catalana Occidente, will lead the Directorate General of Legal-Corporate. In addition, following Arregui's retirement, the current Director Secretary of the Board of Directors, will become the company's Non-Director Secretary. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Barcelona and a Bachelor's degree in Law from Abat Oliba CEU. Guallar also holds a Master's degree in International Business Law from ESADE and completed the General Management Programme (PDG) at IESE Business School. Before joining Grupo Catalana Occidente, he practised law in Barcelona and New York, at Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira SLP and at the Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP office. He has also been a non-director secretary and vice secretary of multiple boards of directors.

Lastly, the General Directorate of Business Development and Strategy has been created, an area that up to now had reported to the Managing Director, and it will be led by Francisco Sánchez, with the aim of driving strategic acquisitions and partnerships, as well as complementing the Group's position in certain markets or activities. Sánchez holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management and Administration and another in Actuarial and Financial Studies from the Comillas Pontifical University. He completed an Executive MBA (EMBA) at IESE Business School and the General Management Program at Harvard Business School. In 1999 he joined BNP Paribas, where as of 2018 he held the position of Managing Director of Corporate & Investment Banking, as the person responsible for relations with banks, insurers and institutional clients in the Iberian Peninsula.

Grupo Catalana Occidente's Managing Director, Hugo Serra, has underlined that the succession in upper management is the result of the "logical and consistent evolution of the strategy followed by the Group in recent years". He also thanked Francisco José Arregui for his contribution to the company's growth in the past decades: "He has been a crucial person in Grupo Catalana Occidente's successful track record, and we wish him the best in this new stage."