José Ignacio Sánchez Galán

José Ignacio Sánchez Galán1 (born 1950) better known as Ignacio Galán, is a Spanish businessman who currently serves as chairman of Iberdrola, a multinational energy company with a presence in dozens of countries worldwide with subsidiaries including ScottishPower in the United Kingdom, Avangrid in USA, Neoenergia in Brazil, Iberdrola Australia and Iberdrola Mexico. In 2019 he is selected by Harvard Business Review as one of the five most important CEOs in the world.
Early life
Galán was born in 1950 in Salamanca, Spain. As a young man, he moved to Madrid to study industrial engineering at the ICAI School of Engineering attached to Comillas Pontifical University.
Galán also graduated in business administration from the ICADE Business School and in Business Administration and Foreign Trade from the EOI Business School. He speaks English, French, Italian and Portuguese and is married with four children.
Career
Early career
Galán's career got under way in 1972 at Sociedad Española del Acumulador Tudor, where he held various executive posts and oversaw the company's international expansion.
In the early 1990s, he managed Industria de Turbopropulsores (ITP)2 since its creation. Initially it was a consortium supported by Rolls-Royce and SENER (a private Spanish engineering and technology group).
Between 1993 and 1995 Ignacio Galán was Chairman of Eurojet, the European consortium for the development and manufacture of the Eurojet EJ2005 engine, which equips the Eurofighter.
After that, he became CEO of Airtel Móvil, a mobile and landline telephony services company, which was eventually acquired by Vodafone.
Career at Iberdrola
In 2001, Galán was appointed the executive vice-chairman and chief executive of Iberdrola and in 2006 he earned the position of executive chairman at the company.3
In 2007 he was appointed Scottish Power Chairman, once the merge of the Scottish electric company into Iberdrola was completed. Iberdrola had been recognized by former Scotland Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon as an example for decarbonization of Scotland.
Since 2015 he is also Avangrid Chairman. Avangrid is the Iberdrola controlled utility based in the US, as a consequence of the merge of former Iberdrola USA and UIL. Since then, Iberdrola’s presence in the US had been growing as it shows in the last Iberdrola Investor Day, where was announced that the US will be receiving the biggest share (34 per cent) of the huge €36bn total investment in renewables generation and power networks. In 2022 Mr. Galan also had meeting with United States President Joe Biden in order to advance offshore wind power industry in the US, considered a key industry to promote climate resilience.
In an article published in April 2021, The New York Times highlighted Iberdrola as a "leader" in renewables thanks to "the commitment" that Ignacio Galán made to renewables 20 years ago and underlined how since Galán took the reins of the energy company he has had "the mission to change the electricity industry" and that "it was very clear to him that he saw the United States as having enormous potential in renewables".
In October 2020, the Financial Times described Ignacio Galán as "the engineer" who has transformed what was a second-tier Spanish company into the world's third-largest utility since he took the helm in 2001, transforming it from a primarily domestic company with coal, hydroelectric and oil-fired plants into a leader in clean energy, as well as an owner of electricity grids. Its acquisitions in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, the UK and the US have made the group the third largest utility in the world by market value.
In 2022, he announced to the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, an investment of 3 billion euros for his country. It was through Infigen, an Australian company acquired by Iberdrola in 2020. The aim was to provide new capacity for renewable energy, battery storage, green hydrogen projects, and investment in transmission networks.
In 2023, Galan taught the case 'Iberdrola, leading the energy revolution' at Harvard Business School, developed by Professor Juan Alcácer, James J. Hill Professor of Business Administration. The case analyzes its strategy, such as its role in green hydrogen, based on the position taken by the group in renewables, grids and storage.
In 2023, he joined the Global Leaders Council of the UNICEF Generation Unlimited organization.
Other activities
Corporate boards
JPMorgan Chase, Member of the International Council (since 2018)
Non-profit organizations
World Economic Forum (WEF), Chair of the Electricity Cluster
Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies, Member of the Board of Trustees
European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT), Member of the Board and Steering Committee
Renewable Hydrogen Coalition (RHC), Chairman since 2021
He has chaired the electric utilities group at the World Economic Forum (Davos), of which he is a member. Galán is also a member of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) and the group representing Europe's leading electric companies.
Recognition
Galán has been bestowed numerous awards and accolades over the course of his career. In 2011, he received an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh and from the University of Salamanca, 5 on account of his “proven ability to bring about change and innovate and his future vision”6, while in 2013 he was handed an honorary degree in science from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. He is also a member of GlobalScot, an international Scottish government network of the business leaders who are most keenly committed to the economic development of Scotland.
Galán is a visiting lecturer at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and has also given lectures at the Industrial Engineering College attached to Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid. In 2012, he was appointed chairman of the Social Council of the University of Salamanca.
Throughout his career he has received numerous recognitions, including the following: One of the 100 CEOs included in the Brand Finance Brand Guardianship Index 2021; selected between the best five CEO of the world on the Harvard Business Review Ranking; recognized as one of the 10's more influential CEO in the fight against climate change, according to Bloomberg; best Chief Executive Officer (CEO) within the utilities category (for the eleventh time) according to the Institutional Investor Research Group 201; and best CEO of European utilities and Spanish listed companies in investors relations, according to the Thomson Extel Survey 2011.
For three years running, he was named “Best CEO in Investor Relations” by IR Magazine (2003–2005). The award is based on opinions gathered from stock market analysts and investment fund managers. He was also named “Best CEO of the Year” in 2006 at the Platts Global Energy Awards.7
In 2008, he was crowned “Business Leader of the Year” by the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce8 and that same year he also received the “International Economy Award” from the Cristóbal Gabarrón Foundation.9 José Ignacio Galán has also been named Council of Bilbao by the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce and obtained the 2009 Gold Medal from the Province of Salamanca.10
In 2011, he was handed the Lagun Onari award by the Basque Government, which is given to prominent non-Basque individuals in recognition of their efforts to promote Basque history and culture and improve the region's economy.11
In 2014, he received the FIRST Award for Responsible Capitalism and that very same year, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom bestowed on him the honorary title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire.12 That same year he was awarded the honorary decoration of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (Civil Division) for his work on behalf of the British energy sector and UK-Spain trade and investment relations.
In 2016, Galán received his tenth Best Chief Executive Officer award in European electric utilities, which is issued by the Institutional Investor Research Group.13 14
In 2017, the Institutional Investor Research Group named him, for the eleventh time, Best Chief Executive of European electric utilities. In 2011 he was named best CEO of European utilities and Spanish listed companies in investor relations, according to the Thomson Extel Survey.
In 2018, he was named Honorary Member of the Spanish Institute of Engineering in recognition of "a long and successful life dedicated to engineering" and "his skills, abilities and value as an engineer".
In 2019 was designated as a Universal Spaniard by the Independent Foundation. This award honours the career of Ignacio Galán, an engineer and prominent manager who has been leading companies in industrial and technological sectors (such as telecommunications, aeronautics and energy) in which he has profoundly changed their profile, reflecting his vision of the future and his ability to anticipate the new needs of society.
In 2019 he also received the National Innovation and Design Award 2019, in the category of Innovative Career, awarded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the León Award from El Español for Best Business Management 2019, was selected among the five best CEOs in the world in the 2019 Harvard Business Review ranking and was recognised as one of the 10 most influential CEOs in the world in the fight against climate change, according to Bloomberg.
That same year he was also recognised among the top five CEOs in the world in the Harvard Business Review's 2019 annual ranking.
In 2020 he won the Alfonso de Salas Award for Economic Personality of the Year, awarded by the newspaper elEconomista, the Management Leadership Award by the Spanish Association for Quality (AEC), the Honour Award of the VII Awards for the Best Executive of Castilla y León, organised by Castilla y León Económica, the Forinvest 2020 Award for professional career21 and the National Innovation and Design Award for Innovative Career, awarded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
In 2023, Ignacio Galán has been awarded the inaugural Foreign Policy Association's ESG Leadership Award during their annual dinner at New York's Harvard Club. The award recognizes business leaders who have shown a strong commitment to incorporating ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles into their business strategies. Governor George Pataki, New York's former governor, presented the award, commending Galán's visionary approach and social responsibility in leading Iberdrola's growth and advancements in renewable energy. Galán highlighted Iberdrola's ongoing commitment to ESG principles, emphasizing the compatibility of decarbonization and value creation. The event also honored General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Joaquin Duato, Chairman & CEO of Johnson & Johnson, for their notable contributions. Galan also received the Business Leadership in Energy Transition 2023 Award from the Energy Newspaper.
References
External links
1 CORPORATE, IBERDROLA. “Presidente - Iberdrola”. www.iberdrola.com. Viewed on 2016-11-05.
2 ATTEST. “ITP. Manufacturer of turbines and aeronautical engines”. www.itp.es. Viewed on 2016-11-05.
3 “Iberdrola apuesta por las renovables”. El Periódico Extremadura. Viewed on 2016-11-05.
4 Presidente del Consejo Social de la USAL, EuropaPress, 31/05/2012.
5 Doctor Honoris Causa por la USAL, Universidad de Salamanca, 2/12/2011.
6 Ignacio Galán, doctor honoris causa por su visión de futuro y asunción de riesgos, El Mundo, 2/12/2011.
7 Ignacio Galán e Iberdrola reciben en Nueva York los galardones al Máximo Ejecutivo del Año y a la Compañía Energética del Año de Platts, El Economista, 1/12/2006.
8 Ignacio Galán, Líder Empresarial del Año, El Mundo, 12/06/2008.
9 Premio Internacional Fundación Cristóbal Gabarrón de Economía, Energía Diario, 10/10/2008.
10 El presidente de Iberdrola recibe en Salamanca la medalla de oro de la provincia, RTVCYL, 21/09/2009.
11 El Gobierno vasco concede la distinción Lagun Onari a Ignacio Galán, B.O.P.V., 18/10/2011.
12 “Galán, condecorado como Comendador Honorario de la Orden del Imperio Británico”, europapress.es. 2014-05-22. Viewed on 2016-11-07.
13 Mejor Primer Ejecutivo de las eléctricas europeas 2015, Institutional Investor, 2015.
14 Ignacio Galán mejor CEO de las utilities europeas, Lainformacion.com, 3/11/2016.
15 EL PAÍS newspaper, 30 March 2012.
1950 births
Living people
People from Salamanca
Spanish businesspeople
Comillas Pontifical University alumni
Directors of Iberdrola