TDE.L Regulatory News (TDE)

26 Jul 2006 11:56

Telefonica SA26 July 2006 PRESS RELEASE Creates three Divisions, in charge of all fixed and mobile assets in Spain, restof Europe and Latin America, respectively TELEFONICA IS IMPLEMENTING A REGIONAL AND INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT MODEL TOPURSUE ITS CUSTOMER-ORIENTED APPROACH AND TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF SCALE • Chairman Cesar Alierta has acted on the announcements made during the Investors' Conference and General Shareholders' Meeting in regard to affording the Company a more flexible and dynamic structure to strengthen its leadership and increase its competitive advantage in the sector. Madrid, 26 July 2006.- The Board of Directors of Telefonica S.A., in an ordinarymeeting today, has approved plans to adapt the Company's management structure toa new regional and integrated management model, as outlined by the Chairman atthe last Investors' Conference and at the recent General Shareholders' Meeting. Both events served as a backdrop for the presentation of the new Telefonica, astronger and more flexible company which, in the wake of the changes in recentyears and consolidation of its acquisitions in Latin America and Europe, is nowin a privileged position to strengthen its leadership and take advantage of theopportunities in the sector and its competitive edge over rivals. From this position of strength, as evidenced by excellent financial and businessresults, its significant presence in Europe and leadership in Spain and LatinAmerica, the Company is now implementing a new management model aimed atsecuring further growth in revenues and profitability, taking full advantage ofscale and diversity and managing the convergence process between fixed andmobile telephony based on an integrated business view that is clearly geared tocustomers. The new organisational model is pivotal upon the strengthening of theCoordination, Business Development and Synergies Division, headed by JulioLinares, and a regional integrated business division to underpin customerrelations. The various markets in which Telefonica operates now each have theirown pace of growth and degrees of competition. Accordingly, after the return ofTelefonica Moviles to Telefonica, the Company's Chairman has decided toimplement an integral market approach and designate sole managers for both thefixed and mobile businesses, to define strategies in line with regionalconditions and to pursue further growth in revenues and profitability in eachgeographical area. The purpose of Coordination, Business Development and Synergies Division whichis, in charge of Strategy, Budget and Control, Commercial, Infrastructure and ITSystems, Real Estate, Logistics, Purchases and Human Resources, is to ensure theintegrated operation of Telefonica as a single company, very much geared tocustomers. This view has led to the creation of three Regional Business Units: TelefonicaSpain, Telefonica Europe and Telefonica Latin America) in charge of theintegrated business, i.e. both fixed and mobile assets. The Divisions will bemanaged as follows: Antonio Viana-Baptista has been appointed General Manager of Telefonica Espanaand will spearhead both fixed and mobile telephony businesses in Spain. The CEOsof Telefonica de Espana (Guillermo Ansaldo) and Telefonica Moviles Espana (BelenAmatriain) will report to him. Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete has been appointed General Manager of TelefonicaLatinoamerica and he will spearhead all of Telefonica Internacional's currentbusinesses and all mobile operations pertaining to Telefonica in Latin America,which will remain under the operating management of COO Luis Miguel Gilperez. Peter Erskine, appointed General Manager of Telefonica O2 Europa, will continueto head the Rest of Europe Division, including O2's operations in the UK,Germany and Ireland, as well as the assets in the Czech Republic . The Coordination, Business Development and Synergies Division, as well as allthree Regional Divisions and the Finance and Corporate Development Division,which is headed by Santiago Fernandez Valbuena, will report to the Company'sChairman and its Managers will sit alongside the Chairman on Telefonica'sExecutive Committee. For corporate support operations, the Board has approved the creation of theTechnical Secretariat for the Chairman's Office to be headed by Luis Abril. Thisnew Technical Secretariat will take charge of the areas of CorporateCommunications and Institutional Relations as well as Fundacion Telefonica, andwill report to the Chairman. The Legal and Board Secretariat, headed by RamiroSanchez de Lerin, will be in charge of Legal Services, also reporting to theChairman, and the same applies to the General Internal Auditing Division, underCalixto Rios. Lastly, the hitherto Chairman of Telefonica de Espana, Luis Lada, will realignhis contractual position with the Company, from executive level to strategicconsultancy to the Chairman and Executive Committee. Lada, an expert in thefield who knows the market inside out, as well as being a member of Spain'sRoyal Academy of Engineering, will remain on the Supervisory Board ofTelefonica O2 Czech Republic and he will also join the Board of TelefonicaInternacional and the Advisory Board of Telefonica R&D. In this new relationshipwith the Company, Lada will continue to contribute his expertise and put forwardhis criteria in matters of strategy, convergence, integration and global markettrends. The chart with the new Telefonica's organisational structure is available on theCompany's website (www.telefonica.es) Para mas informacion / For further information Direccion de Comunicacion Corporativa Tel: +34 91 584 09 20 Press Office Fax: +34 91 532 71 18 Gran Via, 28 - 3(a) Planta e-mail: prensa@telefonica.es 28013 - MADRID http://www.telefonica.es/saladeprensa This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange