PRISA board appoints Joseph Oughourlian as non-executive chairman

The PRISA board of directors held this Tuesday has approved several changes to promote the transformation of the EL PAÍS publishing group. Among these, the appointment of Joseph Oughourlian as non-executive chairman of the group stands out, at the proposal and prior report of the Appointments, Remuneration and Corporate Governance Committee.

Oughourlian held the vice-presidency since April 2019. His appointment as president has been carried out within the framework of the succession plan launched by the board of directors after the resignation, last December, of the previous president of the board. Then, the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of PRISA approved the removal of Javier Monzón as president of the group.

Oughourlian (Paris, 48 ​​years old) trained at the HEC and IEP (SciencesPo) business schools and at the Sorbonne. He began his career at Société Générale in the French capital in 1994 and moved to New York in 1996. In 2001 he created Amber Fund and in 2005 he founded Amber Capital. Oughourlian joined PRISA’s board of directors in December 2015 and was appointed vice president in April 2019. After the meeting on December 18, he served as the acting chair of the group.

“With the changes in the board of directors, we want to start a stage of transformation and generational change within the board itself and the organization,” explained Oughourlian. “The profiles incorporated in the positions of the board will allow us to promote, together with the CEO of the group, Manuel Mirat, the company’s roadmap”, added the new non-executive chairman.

As a consequence of the condition of proprietary director of the chairman of the board, it has been agreed to appoint the independent director Rosauro Varo as vice chairman of the board of directors and the continuity of Béatrice de Clermont-Tonnerre as coordinating director and chair of the Appointments, Remuneration Committee and Corporate Governance.

The independent director Javier de Jaime has announced his resignation as a member of the board and, therefore, as a member of the Executive Committee in anticipation that his current professional situation will make it difficult for him to meet his responsibilities with the utmost dedication and diligence. The board of directors thanked De Jaime for his dedication, contribution and professionalism during the performance of the position.

The board has also agreed to the appointment, by co-option, of Pepita Marín Rey-Stolle as director, with the category of independent, to fill the vacancy left by De Jaime. Pepita Marín’s professional profile and experience fit in with the competency matrix prepared by the Appointments Committee, providing the required professional and personal skills, in particular, experience in e-commerce and digitization, auditing, entrepreneurship, and generational renewal. With this appointment and following the recommendations of good corporate governance, the presence of women on the board of directors is reinforced.

Likewise, the reorganization of the board committees has been agreed. The Executive Committee will be made up of Oughourlian as president, Manuel Mirat, Béatrice de Clermont-Tonnerre, Manuel Polanco, Javier Santiso and Rosauro Varo.

The Audit, Risks and Compliance Committee will continue to be chaired by Dominique D’Hinnin and will have as members Amber Capital UK (represented by Fernando Martínez), María Teresa Ballester and Pepita Marín Rey-Stolle.

The Appointments, Remuneration and Corporate Governance Committee will be chaired by Béatrice de Clermont-Tonnerre and will have Javier Santiso, Dominique D’Hinnin and Rosauro Varo as members. The secretary of the committees is Xavier Pujol, secretary of the board of directors of PRISA.