María Fanjul moves from Inditex to Acciona and Estrella Galicia boards

María Fanjul, the executive who went from Inditex to two boardrooms

María Fanjul Suárez does not make the front pages, but her CV keeps advancing quietly: in June 2022 she joined the board of Descendientes de Rivera, the owner of Estrella Galicia, and a year earlier she had already done the same at Acciona Energía. Her previous stop, between 2014 and December 2020, was Inditex's online business, where she landed after running Entradas.com, a pioneering online ticket-selling platform.

A career that raises eyebrows

The news of her appointment would have slipped past the business pages were it not for a surname that invites controversy. Some argue that her rise owes more to a powerful surname than to her management skills: "she goes from one cushy job to the next," people say. Others point out she is not alone: cronyism on boards of directors is the norm in Spain, not the exception.

Estrella Galicia, the jewel that refuses to sell

Beyond the person, the seat at Descendientes de Rivera is a coveted one: the Galician company receives offers from multinationals every year and turns them all down while continuing to grow. Its owners prefer independence to an easy cheque, and the market rewards them: their beer is one of the few considered drinkable in a country dominated by the macro-brewers.

The question remains open: is her career the fruit of talent or of her surname? In a country where boards are filled with retired politicians and relatives, scepticism is not irrational. But there is also no proof that the executive has not earned her seat.