Telefónica's board approves a new structure that replaces the geographical axis with areas of consumer, large clients, and systems. The three executives come from Telefónica España and will report to Emilio Gayo.
The board of directors of Telefónica is set to approve on Wednesday a reorganisation that eliminates the old geographical axis (Spain, Germany, the UK, Brazil) and replaces it with three pan-European areas focused on the customer: consumer, large clients, and systems. The information, reported by ecosistemastartup.com, confirms that the three heads will report directly to the CEO, Emilio Gayo, and he to the executive chairman, Marc Murtra.
The new structure reinforces Madrid's role as a decision-making centre: the three executives come from the team of Telefónica España. Óscar Candiles, current Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of Telefónica España, will take charge of the Consumer area with the aim of replicating the fixed-mobile convergence that works in Spain and Brazil in markets like Germany. Borja Ochoa, president of Telefónica España since January 2025, will lead Large Clients, which will group companies, public administrations, wholesale business, and the capabilities of Telefónica Tech (cybersecurity, cloud, and digital services for corporations). Sergio Sánchez, current director of Operations, Network, and Information Technologies of Telefónica España, will head Systems, which includes fibre optics, 5G, submarine cables, Telefónica Infra assets, information systems, and operational artificial intelligence.
Telefónica declined to comment on the appointments. Industry sources cited by other media describe the three executives as "candidates" awaiting the official announcement after the board meeting.
"The turning point will be in 2027 and the cruising speed in 2028," according to the CEO of Telefónica Germany, Santiago Argelich.
The reorganisation comes with the stock at a low: the share closed at 3.38 euros, which represents a loss of 21% since the days leading up to the presentation of the strategic plan (4.292 euros) and 9.14% since the day Murtra presented it. In the past year, the company has sold its business in Ibero-America (where only Brazil and Venezuela remain), transferred its historic headquarters on Gran Vía, and halved the dividend to shareholders.
The first half of 2026 left mixed results that explain the urgency of the change. Telefónica reduced its losses to 338 million euros, a 75% decrease compared to the same period in 2025, although the figure includes an impact of 1.001 million from the divestment in Chile and the provision for workforce restructuring in Germany. Continuing operations contributed a net profit of 474 million, while discontinued operations (mainly Chile) added a negative result of 812 million. The company improved its guidance for operating cash flow: from "above 2%" to "above 3%".
Telefónica Germany, which operates under the O2 brand, is undergoing its own adjustment process: a workforce reduction of around 1,000 employees, nearly 15% of the more than 6,800 professionals in the country, after losing the wholesale network leasing contract with 1&1, whose traffic migrated to Vodafone. The UK is excluded from the new pan-European scheme: VMO2 is governed alongside Liberty Global and, according to industry sources, is "a tough nut to crack." In practice, the pan-European reach will mainly be Spain-Germany, with Brazil and Venezuela as separate cases.
The official announcement with the final appointments is expected after the board meeting on Wednesday.
You may also like
