Zara-owner Inditex names Marta Ortega, 37-year-old daughter of its billionaire founder, new chair

Marta is the daughter of Amancio Ortega, 85, who launched Inditex in 1963 and is today Spain’s richest individual
FILES-SPAIN-TEXTILE-INDITEX-ECONOMY
Marta Ortega with her father, Amancio Ortega, 85, who launched Inditex back in 1963 and is today Spain's richest individual
AFP via Getty Images
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Spanish clothing behemoth Inditex, which owns Zara, saw shares fall on Tuesday after appointing the 37-year old daughter of its billionaire founder as the company’s new chair.

The company — which has over 6,500 shops worldwide under brands including Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Stradivarius — is currently controlled by Amancio Ortega, 85, who launched the business back in 1963 and is today Spain's richest individual.

His daughter, Marta Ortega, will take up the role of chairwoman from April 1, 2022.

Inditex, which has a market value of €88 billion, said the move is the completion of a "generational" management handover process started back in 2011.

The news prompted a share sell-off on Tuesday. Shares were down as much as 5.7% by 2pm.

In the succession announcement, Marta Ortega said: "I have lived and breathed this company since my childhood.

"I have always said that I would dedicate my life to building upon my parents' legacy, looking to the future but learning from the past and serving the company, our shareholders and our customers where I’m most needed.

"I’m deeply honoured by the trust that has been placed in me, and enormously excited about the future that we are all about to embark upon together."

Unlike her predecessor in the role, Pablo Isla, Ortega will not be an executive chair, meaning she will not be involved in the day-to-day running of the business.

Current general counsel and board secretary Óscar García Maceiras will immediately become CEO.

Analysts at Kepler told the BBC they believe "the timing is not the best" for the announcement, as "we believe that both Marta Ortega and the CEO Oscar Maceiras have a lot to prove when it comes to their ability to run this big monster in the middle of the COVID crisis."

FILE PHOTO: Marta Ortega, daughter of Inditex founder Amancio Ortega, reacts during the International Horse Show 2016 in Gijon
Marta Ortega has worked at Inditex across several departments for 15 years
REUTERS

Who is Marta Ortega?

Marta Ortega, also known as Marta Ortega Pérez, is the 37 year old daughter of Inditex founder Amancio Ortega.

An experienced businessperson, she has worked across different areas of the Inditex Group for the past 15 years. She began at the bottom, working as a sales assistant at the Zara store on the King’s Road after graduating from university.

“The first week, I thought I was not going to survive,” she told the Wall Street Journal. “But then you get kind of addicted to the store.”

The company said Ortega has "led in the strengthening of Zara's brand image and fashion proposition" in her time with Inditex. Until recently she held no official title at the company.

She has developed campaigns with the likes of Steven Meisel to Fabien Baron, Karl Templer and Luca Guadagnino, and helped launch statement collections including Charlotte Gainsbourg by Zara.

In a rare interview this August, Ortega told the Wall Street Journal she wanted to “build bridges between high fashion and high street.”

Ortega did ballet and rode horses as she grew up, competing in almost 400 events according to the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. Her family own a stable in their native Spain.

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