Juan Villalonga
Encyclopedia
Juan Villalonga Navarro is an influential Spanish businessman. He was a partner at McKinsey & Company
in the 1980s, CEO for Credit Suisse First Boston
and Bankers Trust
in Spain in the early 1990s, and CEO of Telefónica
from 1996 to 2000.
In 2010, Harvard Business Review
named Villalonga one of the world's top 100 CEOs. As of 2011, he is a business advisor for worldwide companies and management teams.
when Generalitat
was suspended in 1935. His great uncle was also chairman for one of Spain's largest banks, Banco Central
(1943–1970), and was an outspoken critic of the Franco regime.
Villalonga attended school at the Colegio Nuestra Senora del Pilar
in Madrid. There, he became friends with José María Aznar
, who would serve as Prime Minister of Spain
from 1996 to 2004. In 1970 Villalonga began attending his great uncle's alma mater, the University of Deusto
, to earn a degree in law. He graduated in 1975. While undertaking an MBA at the IESE
in Barcelona, Spain, University of Navarre from 1975 to 1977, he completed his military service, rising to the rank of Alferez
(Second Lieutenant) (1974–1975).
He joined McKinsey & Company
in 1980 and worked as a partner across the U.S., Portugal
, Brazil
, Italy
and Spain
. During this period, he serviced McKinsey clients such as Banco Santander, which is ranked as the largest bank in the Eurozone. He opened McKinsey’s Rome
office in 1987.
He subsequently became CEO for Credit Suisse First Boston
, Spain and Bankers Trust
in Spain.
, proposed by shareholders Argentaria, Banco Bilbao, La Caixa
, and with endorsement of the Spanish Premier, Jose Maria Aznar
. In four years under his leadership,Telefónica’s market cap increased by $127 billion, securing the company's leadership position in Spain and turning Telefónica into an international telecommunications power. He also developed a successful model for acquisitions where transactions were made in stock.
In 1997, the European telecommunications market was liberalized, and Telefónica ceased to have a monopoly in Spain. Villalonga used the event to expand the company beyond Spain into other Spanish-speaking markets. In 1997, he entered the company into pre-BRIC
Brazil.
In 1998, Villalonga launched Telefónica Interactiva (also known as Terra Networks), Telefónica’s Internet portal. He aggressively acquired several local start-ups in Spain and the main Latin American markets, turning Terra into a major internet company. These acquisitions included Ole (Spain), Zaz (Brazil), Infosel
(Mexico), Gauchonet y Donde (Argentina) and Chevere (Venezuela). In November 1999, Terra had a high-profile IPO in the U.S. and Spain, and its shares rose from the initial price of €11.81 to €157.65 within three months.
He then had Telefónica purchase the American Internet search company, Lycos
, creating one of the world’s largest Internet companies. It opened the U.S. market of 30 million Spanish speakers to Terra and provided access to parts of the world where Telefónica did not yet have a foothold, such as Asia. The purchase for $12.5 billion in stock in May 2000 created a new company known as Terra Lycos Inc., which had a pro-forma revenue of approximately $500 million, an estimated 50 million new users, and 175 million page views per day.
In June 2000, Villalonga strengthened the international standing of Telefónica’s Spanish Group in an equity swap known as "Operation Verónica." He had Telefónica buy out minority shareholders in its Latin American subsidiaries: Telefónica de Argentina, Telesp
in Brazil, Telefónica del Perú, and Tele Sudeste. He also reorganized the company along product rather than geographical lines. During the same period, Telefónica acquired Dutch entertainment giant Endemol
for €5.5 billion in stock.
In June 2000, the Madrid daily El Mundo
claimed that Villalonga had been involved in insider trading
. Amid these rumors and pressure from the Spanish government, Villalonga resigned as chairman of Telefónica in July 2000. In August 2000, the Spanish stock market commission, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores
(CNMV), cleared Villalonga of insider trading charges.
Villalonga served as a board member of the Espirito Santo Financial Group
until September 2011. He is a board member of Axiata, and is a director of the technology company Idea.
In 2010, Harvard Business Review
named Villalonga one of the Best-Performing CEO’s in the World.
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
in the 1980s, CEO for Credit Suisse First Boston
Credit Suisse First Boston
Credit Suisse First Boston was the former name of the banking firm Credit Suisse.-History:In 1978, Credit Suisse and First Boston Corporation formed a London-based 50-50 investment banking joint venture called the Financière Crédit Suisse-First Boston...
and Bankers Trust
Bankers Trust
Bankers Trust was an historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1998.-History:A consortium of banks created Bankers Trust to perform trust company services for their clients....
in Spain in the early 1990s, and CEO of Telefónica
Telefónica
Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...
from 1996 to 2000.
In 2010, Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
named Villalonga one of the world's top 100 CEOs. As of 2011, he is a business advisor for worldwide companies and management teams.
Early life, education
Juan Villalonga is a native of Madrid, Spain, and was born on April 8, 1953. He comes from an established Spanish family deeply entrenched in the economics and politics of the country. His paternal family owned the Tramway and Railway Company of Valencia from CTFV to 1917. His great uncle, Ignacio Villalonga, was Governor of CataloniaCatalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
when Generalitat
Generalitat
Generalitat is the name of the autonomous systems of government of two of the present Spanish autonomous communities: Catalonia and the Valencian Community. The term is also used for the government of the semi-autonomous comarca of Val d'Aran, the Generalitat a l'Aran.Generalitat refers to all...
was suspended in 1935. His great uncle was also chairman for one of Spain's largest banks, Banco Central
Hispanic Central Bank
The Hispanic Central Bank is located in Madrid, Spain. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1999....
(1943–1970), and was an outspoken critic of the Franco regime.
Villalonga attended school at the Colegio Nuestra Senora del Pilar
Colegio Santa María del Pilar
The Colegio Santa María del Pilar is a Roman Catholic private primary, middle and high school founded by the Society of Mary in Madrid, Spain.. The school campus is one of the largest in central Madrid and its listed chapel, built in the 1950s, is one of the finest examples of early Spanish moderne...
in Madrid. There, he became friends with José María Aznar
José María Aznar
José María Alfredo Aznar López served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He is on the board of directors of News Corporation.-Early life:...
, who would serve as Prime Minister of Spain
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
from 1996 to 2004. In 1970 Villalonga began attending his great uncle's alma mater, the University of Deusto
University of Deusto
The University of Deusto is a Spanish Jesuit University, with campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián, Spain.-History:The University of Deusto first opened in 1886, having been founded because of the Basque Country's desire to have its own university and the Society of Jesus's wish to move its School...
, to earn a degree in law. He graduated in 1975. While undertaking an MBA at the IESE
IESE
IESE Business School is the graduate business school of the University of Navarra. IESE has campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, and New York City and teaching facilities in Munich and Sao Paulo...
in Barcelona, Spain, University of Navarre from 1975 to 1977, he completed his military service, rising to the rank of Alferez
Alférez
Alférez is a junior officer rank also used in Spain, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. The variant Alferes is used in Portugal and was formerly also used in Brazil. A naval variant, Frigate Alférez, is used in Spain, Dominican Republic and Peru. "Alférez" is often translated as ensign...
(Second Lieutenant) (1974–1975).
Career
For the next 18 years Villalonga worked in the financial markets, starting in New York with J.P. Morgan’s credit analyst team. In this role, he evaluated the credit worthiness of companies and made quantitative analysis and credit projections. In 1979, he was promoted to Account Officer and assigned to Madrid.He joined McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
in 1980 and worked as a partner across the U.S., Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. During this period, he serviced McKinsey clients such as Banco Santander, which is ranked as the largest bank in the Eurozone. He opened McKinsey’s Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
office in 1987.
He subsequently became CEO for Credit Suisse First Boston
Credit Suisse First Boston
Credit Suisse First Boston was the former name of the banking firm Credit Suisse.-History:In 1978, Credit Suisse and First Boston Corporation formed a London-based 50-50 investment banking joint venture called the Financière Crédit Suisse-First Boston...
, Spain and Bankers Trust
Bankers Trust
Bankers Trust was an historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1998.-History:A consortium of banks created Bankers Trust to perform trust company services for their clients....
in Spain.
Telefónica
In 1996, Villalonga was appointed to the post of CEO of TelefónicaTelefónica
Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...
, proposed by shareholders Argentaria, Banco Bilbao, La Caixa
La Caixa
La Caixa , formally Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona , is currently Europe’s leading savings bank and Spain's third largest financial institution, with a network of over 5,500 branches, more than 8,100 ATMs, a workforce in excess of 27,000 and more than 10.7 million...
, and with endorsement of the Spanish Premier, Jose Maria Aznar
José María Aznar
José María Alfredo Aznar López served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He is on the board of directors of News Corporation.-Early life:...
. In four years under his leadership,Telefónica’s market cap increased by $127 billion, securing the company's leadership position in Spain and turning Telefónica into an international telecommunications power. He also developed a successful model for acquisitions where transactions were made in stock.
In 1997, the European telecommunications market was liberalized, and Telefónica ceased to have a monopoly in Spain. Villalonga used the event to expand the company beyond Spain into other Spanish-speaking markets. In 1997, he entered the company into pre-BRIC
BRIC
In economics, BRIC is a grouping acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which are all deemed to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development...
Brazil.
In 1998, Villalonga launched Telefónica Interactiva (also known as Terra Networks), Telefónica’s Internet portal. He aggressively acquired several local start-ups in Spain and the main Latin American markets, turning Terra into a major internet company. These acquisitions included Ole (Spain), Zaz (Brazil), Infosel
Grupo Reforma
Grupo Reforma is the largest printed media company in Mexico and Latin America. It publishes ten daily newspapers in five cities, including the leading newspapers in Mexico's three largest cities: Reforma in Mexico City, El Norte in Monterrey and Mural in Guadalajara...
(Mexico), Gauchonet y Donde (Argentina) and Chevere (Venezuela). In November 1999, Terra had a high-profile IPO in the U.S. and Spain, and its shares rose from the initial price of €11.81 to €157.65 within three months.
He then had Telefónica purchase the American Internet search company, Lycos
Lycos
Lycos, Inc. is a search engine and web portal established in 1994. Lycos also encompasses a network of email, webhosting, social networking, and entertainment websites.-Corporate history:...
, creating one of the world’s largest Internet companies. It opened the U.S. market of 30 million Spanish speakers to Terra and provided access to parts of the world where Telefónica did not yet have a foothold, such as Asia. The purchase for $12.5 billion in stock in May 2000 created a new company known as Terra Lycos Inc., which had a pro-forma revenue of approximately $500 million, an estimated 50 million new users, and 175 million page views per day.
In June 2000, Villalonga strengthened the international standing of Telefónica’s Spanish Group in an equity swap known as "Operation Verónica." He had Telefónica buy out minority shareholders in its Latin American subsidiaries: Telefónica de Argentina, Telesp
Telesp
Telefônica Brasil is a brazilian telecommunications company subsidiary of Spanish Telefónica. The company was originally formed as part of Telebrás, the state-owned telecom monopoly at the time. In 1998, Telebrás was demerged and privatized, with Telefónica taking Telesp. From that time, Telesp...
in Brazil, Telefónica del Perú, and Tele Sudeste. He also reorganized the company along product rather than geographical lines. During the same period, Telefónica acquired Dutch entertainment giant Endemol
Endemol
Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...
for €5.5 billion in stock.
In June 2000, the Madrid daily El Mundo
El Mundo
El Mundo may refer to:*El Mundo , 1983 album recorded by Diomedes Diaz*El Mundo , Puerto Rican newspaper*El Mundo , Spanish newspaper*El Mundo , Venezuelan newspaper*El Mundo , Argentine newspaper...
claimed that Villalonga had been involved in insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
. Amid these rumors and pressure from the Spanish government, Villalonga resigned as chairman of Telefónica in July 2000. In August 2000, the Spanish stock market commission, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores
Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores
The Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores is the Spanish government agency responsible for regulating the financial securities markets in Spain...
(CNMV), cleared Villalonga of insider trading charges.
Recent career
In the 2000s he founded Black Lake Ventures, a firm which channels business opportunities for early stage companies in the telco and media space. The company's stated goal is to accelerate each opportunity to surpass $100 million in revenue.Villalonga served as a board member of the Espirito Santo Financial Group
Espírito Santo Financial Group
The Espírito Santo Financial Group is a portuguese holding company with headquarters in Luxembourg, founded in 1984. The group represents the interests of the Portuguese Espirito Santo Group, which has major investments in Portugal and Europe, Americas, Africa and Asia.The company is listed on the...
until September 2011. He is a board member of Axiata, and is a director of the technology company Idea.
In 2010, Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
named Villalonga one of the Best-Performing CEO’s in the World.