Juan Villalonga facts for kids

Juan Villalonga Navarro, born on April 8, 1953, is a well-known Spanish businessman. He held important leadership roles in several big companies. In the 1980s, he was a partner at McKinsey & Company, a global consulting firm. Later, in the early 1990s, he became the CEO for 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 Villalonga as one of the world's top 100 CEOs.

Early Life and Education

Juan Villalonga was born in Madrid, Spain, on April 8, 1953. He comes from a well-known Spanish family with strong ties to the country's economy and politics. His family owned a railway company in Valencia for many years. His great-uncle, Ignacio Villalonga, was a significant figure in Spanish banking and politics.

Villalonga attended the Colegio Nuestra Senora del Pilar school in Madrid. There, he became friends with José María Aznar, who later became the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. In 1970, Villalonga began studying law at the University of Deusto, graduating in 1975. While earning his MBA at the IESE in Barcelona, Spain, from 1975 to 1977, he also completed his military service.

Career Highlights

For 18 years, Juan Villalonga worked in the financial world. He started his career in New York with J.P. Morgan, where he evaluated how financially strong companies were. In 1979, he moved to Madrid to continue his work.

In 1980, he joined McKinsey & Company, a famous consulting firm. He worked as a partner, helping clients in many countries like the United States, Portugal, Brazil, Italy, and Spain. One of his important clients was Banco Santander, which is one of the largest banks in Europe. He even helped open McKinsey's office in Rome in 1987.

After his time at McKinsey, he became the CEO for Credit Suisse First Boston in Spain and later for Bankers Trust in Spain.

Leading Telefónica

In 1996, Juan Villalonga was chosen to be the chief executive officer of Telefónica. This was a big step, supported by major shareholders and the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar. During his four years as CEO, Telefónica grew incredibly. The company's value increased by $127 billion, making it a leader in Spain and a powerful international telecommunications company. He also developed a smart way to buy other companies using stock instead of cash.

In 1997, the telecommunications market in Europe became more open, meaning Telefónica no longer had a monopoly in Spain. Villalonga used this change as a chance to expand the company beyond Spain, especially into other Spanish-speaking countries. In 1997, he led Telefónica into Brazil, which was a growing market.

In 1998, Villalonga launched Telefónica Interactiva, also known as Terra Networks, which was Telefónica's internet portal. He quickly bought several smaller internet companies in Spain and Latin America. This helped Terra become a major internet company. These acquisitions included Ole in Spain and Infosel in Mexico. In November 1999, Terra had a very successful stock market launch in the U.S. and Spain. Its shares quickly rose a lot in value.

He then had Telefónica buy the American internet search company, Lycos. This created one of the world's largest internet companies, called Terra Lycos Inc. This move helped Telefónica reach millions of Spanish speakers in the U.S. and gain access to new markets like Asia.

In June 2000, Villalonga further strengthened Telefónica's international presence. He had Telefónica buy out the smaller shareholders in its Latin American companies, such as Telefónica de Argentina and Telesp in Brazil. He also reorganized the company based on the types of products it offered, rather than by geographical regions. Around the same time, Telefónica also acquired the Dutch entertainment company Endemol.

In July 2000, Juan Villalonga resigned as chairman of Telefónica. In August 2000, the Spanish stock market commission, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Recent Activities

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

In 2010, the Harvard Business Review once again recognized Villalonga as one of the Best-Performing CEOs in the World.