ACCIONA has resolved to establish a Special Committee for the Evaluation and Strengthening of Regulatory Compliance, reporting to the Board of Directors, with the aim of identifying and, where appropriate, proposing possible improvements to rules, policies and procedures. This was announced today by the company’s Chairman and CEO, José Manuel Entrecanales, during a Christmas address to all Group employees.

The Special Committee will be made up of three independent ACCIONA directors (María Salgado Madriñán, María Dolores Dancausa Treviño and Javier Sendagorta Gómez del Campillo) and three external independent experts of recognized international standing: Sebastián Albella Amigo, former Chairman of Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV); Federico Linares García de Cossío, Chairman of EY Spain; and Luis de Carlos Bertrán, former Managing Partner of Uría y Menéndez.

In addition, the Chairman of ACCIONA announced that PwC, a leading global audit firm, has issued an independent report on the validity and effectiveness of the ACCIONA Group’s compliance system.

The conclusions of the report are unequivocal in stating that Acciona Construcción, like all companies within the ACCIONA Group, has a “crime prevention and anti-corruption model” that is aligned with and certified under best national and international market practices in criminal risk prevention (UNE 19601 and UNE-ISO 37001), and that fully meets the requirements established by criminal legislation to ensure “due control” against the risk of criminal offences within its organization (Article 31 bis of the Criminal Code and Circular 1/2016 of the State Prosecutor’s Office).

The PwC report also confirms that, since before 2015 and throughout the period covered by the ongoing judicial investigations, Acciona Construcción’s compliance framework has been developed and adapted in line with successive legislative changes.

Despite the strength of this framework, “unfortunately, there is no such thing as an absolute control system,” José Manuel Entrecanales stated in his address to employees. “For this reason, I have considered it necessary to go one step further with the creation of this Special Committee.”

“The only real guarantee for preserving the prestige of our brand is the rigor, honesty and decency of each and every one of us,” added the Chairman of ACCIONA. “I trust that, as the judicial investigation progresses, the integrity of our organization, our commitment to justice and the effectiveness of our internal control procedures will be clearly demonstrated.”

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION: SEPARATE TEAMS

The Chairman of the company also announced the reorganization of Acciona Construcción Spain under the leadership of José Damián Sáez, who took over responsibility for the business area last July. Previously, Sáez was Head of Construction for Latin America, based in São Paulo (Brazil).

Under this new organizational structure, business development and the preparation of bids and tenders, on the one hand, and the execution and construction of projects, on the other, will be carried out by distinct and separate teams, thereby improving levels of control, transparency, specialization and efficiency.

Business development and bid and tender preparation processes will be supervised and controlled directly by the Head of Acciona Construcción Spain, supported by the relevant teams.

Francesc López, as Chief Operating Officer, will lead the execution and construction of projects, reporting to José Damián Sáez. López previously served as Director of the Eastern Region of Acciona Construcción Spain.

Until now, Acciona Construcción Spain had four management divisions organised by geographic areas (North, South, East and Central), now being eliminated, which combined business development and project execution in a single function.

Under the new organizational structure, three Operations Directorates will report to the new Chief Operating Officer. These will be structured by project type and customer segments and led by Carlos Tabernero, previously Chief Operating Officer of Acciona Construcción in Latin America; Juan Antonio Adán, formerly Head of Construction in Australia; and Roberto Carballo, who previously headed the Special Projects Business Unit for Construction in Spain.

This reorganization also entails a review of the business unit’s strategic positioning and its presence and activity in the Spanish construction sector, with the aim of diversifying opportunities and adapting to market developments, which point to a potential increase in private-sector investment and reduced activity in the public sector.