The Executive Council has appointed three new independent directors to the highest body of ICF and reduced the number of directors representing the Regional Government to four. As a result of these changes, ICF's Supervisory Board comprises a majority of independent members, in line with the regulatory requirements with regard to the governance of financial institutions.
The Catalonia Regional Government today made further progress in adapting Institut Català de Finances (ICF) to current European regulations on credit institutions, particularly in the area of governance.
The Executive Council amended the composition of ICF's Supervisory Board in accordance with regulatory requirements and in line with the provisions of Law 2/2015, of 28 July, partly amending the Consolidated Text of the Law governing the Catalan Institute of Finance (Institut Català de Finances), which was approved by Legislative Decree 4/2002, of 24 December.
The Regional Government appointed three new independent directors (two women and one man) to ICF's highest governing body. The appointments followed consultation with ICF's Appointments and Remuneration Committee as regards their suitability, knowledge and experience, as required by European and national legislation governing credit institutions. The Regional Government also reduced the number of directors representing it on the Board to four.
As a result of this amendment, the Supervisory Board of ICF contains a majority of independent directors, in line with the regulatory requirements regarding the management and governance of government-owned financial institutions.
New independent directors
The independent directors appointed by the Regional Government today are: Mercè Domingo Piera, Virginia Verger Casasnovas and Francesc Casas Selvas.
Mercè Domingo Piera (Barcelona, 1963) holds a graduate degree in Business Administration and an MBA from ESADE and has completed a number of international master's programmes in management in Germany, France and the US. She has extensive international experience in consumer products companies linked to the Sara Lee Group, where she was Vice-President of the Coffee&Tea Division, with responsibility for Spain, France, Greece, Brazil and Australia; a member of the Board of Directors of Sara Lee Coffee&Tea, and Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Board of Sara Lee International. Since 2009, she has created a number of start-ups in the US (Jamic, Mare Nostrum, The Extra Mile and Funnydoors); she is also a member of the Advisory Board of Larada Sciences (USA).
Vírginia Verger Casasnovas (Barcelona, 1956) holds a degree in Law from the University of Barcelona, a Master in Law and International Tax from Harvard Law School and a Master in Public Administration from the Kennedy School at Harvard. She is currently self-employed. She was formerly a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) with over 15 years' experience, and headed the firm's office in the Balearic Islands. She has also been a Legal-Tax Administrator for the Balearic Islands Government and a tax inspector in the Spanish tax administration. She has extensive teaching experience and is a member of the governing board of APD in the Balearic Islands.
Francesc Casas Selvas (Sabadell, 1947) holds a degree in Economics and Business from the University of Barcelona. He is currently a director of Achieve España and trustee of a number of foundations. He has extensive industrial experience, having been general manager of a number of companies in the automotive industry, including notably the Spanish subsidiary of Sogefi from 1997 to 2013. In the financial area, he was a member of the Board of Banc Sabadell from 1998 to 2013, where he was also a member of the Audit and Control Committee (2002-2012) and the Higher Risk Committee (2005-2011); he commenced his career at Banc Industrial de Catalunya, in the research and industrial holdings departments.
Composition of the new Supervisory Board of ICF
As a result of the appointment of these three new independent directors and the corresponding reduction in the number of directors representing the Catalonia Regional Government, the Supervisory Board of ICF now comprises one executive director, four proprietary directors and six independent directors:
- Albert Carreras de Odriozola, Chairman (dominion)
- Josep Ramon Sanromà Celma, Executive director (CEO)
- Jordi Baiget Cantons (dominion)
- Francesc Casas Selvas (independent)
- Mercè Domingo Piera (independent)
- Xavier Freixas Dargallo (independent)
- Carmina Ganyet Cirera (independent)
- Joan Tarradellas Espuny (dominion)
- Pere Torres Grau (dominion)
- Manel Valls Morató (independent)
- Virginia Verger Casasnovas (independent)