Juan Vicente Martín Fontelles will assume the position of president and CEO of the subsidiary, replacing Roberto Muñoz
MADRID, 28 (EUROPA PRESS)
The CEO of Telefónica Chile, Roberto Muñoz, has been replaced from his position amid the process of the group’s exit from Latin America to reduce its exposure to the region, as reported by the company.
«Starting on June 1, Juan Vicente Martín Fontelles will take on the role of the new president and CEO of Telefónica Movistar Chile, replacing Roberto Muñoz Laporte, who, after more than 25 years in the group, is leaving the organization to take on new professional challenges,» Telefónica Hispam stated in a press release.
In line with this, the new president of Telefónica’s subsidiary in Chile has emphasized his «commitment to creating sustainable value for the company, developing and nurturing talent, as well as supporting clients in their digital transformation processes.»
Juan Vicente Martín Fontelles, born in Madrid, has been associated with the Telefónica group since 1995, during which time he has served as the director of B2B.
«Among his challenges leading the company is to maintain Telefónica’s strategic vision, while safeguarding its position as Chile’s leading integrated operator amidst strong competition. Telefónica Movistar Chile appreciates Roberto Muñoz for his outstanding work and dedication over the years leading the operation (13 of them as CEO and 7 also as president), achieving significant milestones, and wishes him success in his new professional endeavors,» the company added.
Muñoz’s departure also comes at a time when various reports suggest progress in negotiations for the sale of Telefónica’s subsidiary in Chile, although these have not been officially confirmed by the company, which is conducting a strategic review of all its businesses.
Telefónica’s plan to reduce its exposure in Latin America has accelerated since Marc Murtra took over as the group’s president in mid-January.
In this context, on February 24, the company sold its subsidiary in Argentina to Telecom Argentina –controlled by the media group Clarín– for about 1.19 billion euros, while just over a month ago, on April 13, it sold its subsidiary in Peru to the Argentine firm Integra Tec International for around 900,000 euros.
In addition, the sales of its business in Uruguay to Millicom, announced last week for nearly 390 million euros, and its Colombian division for about 368 million euros, are still pending closure and subject to various procedures.
Regarding the exit from Peru, it should be noted that the subsidiary in the country is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings and had a debt of around 1.24 billion euros at the end of 2024.
In fact, the sale of the subsidiary in Argentina had an accounting impact on Telefónica’s results for the first quarter of the year of about 1.2 billion euros, while the transaction in Peru amounted to around 500 million euros.
The combined impact of these two operations — a total of 1.731 billion euros — weighed on the group’s accounts for the first three months of the year, where it recorded a net loss of 1.304 billion euros.
