Juan Villalonga facts for kids

Juan Villalonga Navarro, born on April 8, 1953, is a well-known Spanish businessman. He worked as a partner at McKinsey & Company in the 1980s. Later, he became a top leader (CEO) for banks like Credit Suisse First Boston and Bankers Trust in Spain. From 1996 to 2000, he was the CEO of Telefónica, a major telecommunications company. In 2010, the Harvard Business Review recognized him as one of the world's best CEOs.

Early Life and Education

Juan Villalonga was born in Madrid, Spain, on April 8, 1953. He comes from a family with a long history in Spanish business and politics. For example, his great uncle, Ignacio Villalonga, was a chairman of a large Spanish bank called Banco Central.

Villalonga went to school at the Colegio Nuestra Senora del Pilar in Madrid. There, he became friends with José María Aznar, who later became the Prime Minister of Spain.

In 1970, Villalonga started studying law at the University of Deusto. He graduated in 1975. While getting his MBA degree from IESE in Barcelona, Spain, he also completed his military service. He became an Alferez, which is like a Second Lieutenant.

Career in Business

For 18 years, Juan Villalonga worked in the world of finance. He started in New York with J.P. Morgan, where he helped decide if companies were good at managing money. He looked at their finances and made predictions. In 1979, he moved to Madrid for his job.

Working at McKinsey

In 1980, Villalonga joined McKinsey & Company, a famous consulting firm. He worked as a partner in many countries, including the United States, Portugal, and Spain. He helped big clients like Banco Santander, one of the largest banks in Europe. In 1987, he even helped open McKinsey's office in Rome.

After McKinsey, he became the CEO for Credit Suisse First Boston in Spain. He also led Bankers Trust in Spain.

Leading Telefónica

In 1996, Juan Villalonga was chosen to be the chief executive officer of Telefónica. This was a big telecommunications company in Spain. During his four years as CEO, Telefónica grew a lot. Its value increased by $127 billion, making it a leader in Spain and a strong international company. He also found smart ways to buy other companies using company stock.

In 1997, the rules for phone companies in Europe changed. Telefónica no longer had a monopoly in Spain. Villalonga used this change to expand the company outside of Spain. He focused on countries where Spanish is spoken, like Brazil.

Expanding Online with Terra Networks

In 1998, Villalonga launched Telefónica Interactiva, also known as Terra Networks. This was Telefónica's internet portal. He quickly bought many smaller internet companies in Spain and Latin America. This helped Terra become a major internet company. Some of these companies included Ole in Spain and Zaz in Brazil.

In November 1999, Terra had a very successful IPO. This means its shares were sold to the public for the first time. The share price went up a lot in just three months.

Buying Lycos and Other Companies

Villalonga then had Telefónica buy Lycos, an American internet search company. This created one of the world's largest internet companies called Terra Lycos Inc. This deal helped Terra reach 30 million Spanish speakers in the U.S. and opened doors to new parts of the world, like Asia.

In June 2000, Villalonga made Telefónica even stronger internationally. He had Telefónica buy out other shareholders in its Latin American branches. He also changed how the company was organized, focusing on different products instead of just locations. Around the same time, Telefónica bought Endemol, a large entertainment company from the Netherlands.

In July 2000, Villalonga resigned as chairman of Telefónica. In August 2000, the Spanish stock market commission, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), announced that he had followed all rules.

Recent Work

Juan Villalonga was a board member of the Espirito Santo Financial Group until 2011. He is also a board member of Axiata and a director at the technology company Idea.

In 2010, Harvard Business Review again named Villalonga one of the best-performing CEOs in the world.

See also

In Spanish: Juan Villalonga Navarro para niños