Amancio Ortega appoints Iñigo Bengoechea as head of seven of his companies

The founder of Inditex Amancio Ortega has appointed Iñigo Bengoechea as the legal representative of seven of his companies, including Pontegadea Inversiones and Partler, through which he controls 59.29% of Inditex. 

Bengoechea, Director of Pontegadea, has also been appointed as the head of Pontegadea Immobiliaria, Pontegadea 2015, Sobrado Forestal 2014, Esparelle 2016 and Grilse, according to the Official Gazette of the Spanish Mercantile Registry (Borme). 

News of the appointment comes two weeks after Amancio Ortega announced that he would be stepping down as head of up to 53 of Inditex's subsidiaries. 

Indeed, the founder and main shareholder of the Spanish textile giant has stepped down from his position as head of Bershka, Lefties, Oysho, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Tempe Diseño, Zara Home Logística, Zara Diseño and Massimo Dutti.

Sources close to the situation explained to Europa Press that the changes were purely administrative measures, with no impact on the group's running, as Ortega already passed on the executive responsibilities of the company to Pablo Isla in 2011. 

The Inditex founder still holds the largest fortune in Spain and one of the largest in the world, with assets amounting to 70 billion euros.

In the first three quarters of 2017, Inditex continued to see growth in its sales (+10% to 17.96 billion euros), but its net profit (+6%) did not maintain the rhythm established in the previous year (+9%).