The Spanish ready-to-wear giant Inditex, parent company of the Zara empire, opened a new chapter in its history on Friday with the arrival at its head of Marta Ortega, 38, responsible for leading the group founded by his father at a key moment for his future. No ceremony or press conference: the daughter of multi-billionaire Amancio Ortega, described as discreet and reserved, took the reins of the world leader in textiles without fanfare, in accordance with her wishes. We are talking here regarding a strong group of 6,500 shops and 174,000 employees.
Marta Ortega had been approached for several years to succeed her father. But it was not until the fall that his appointment was formalized, as part of a reorganization orchestrated by Amancio Ortega himself.
Born on January 10, 1984 from the union between the billionaire and his second wife Flora Perez, Marta Ortega grew up in La Coruña, a city in Galicia located at the western tip of Spain, with her half-sister Sandra and her half- Marcos brother.
A graduate of the European Business School in London, she took her first steps in the family group in a Zara store in the British capital, as a saleswoman, following attending a prestigious private high school in Switzerland. According to the Spanish newspaper The country, the young woman had kept her identity secret at the time. But a Rolex watch on his wrist would have tipped off his colleagues.
What directions will it give to the global textile giant? In the fall, his appointment had worried the business community and led to a fall in the price of Inditex on the stock market. Since then, the fears seem to have faded. Marta Ortega, who has never held an executive position at Inditex, “was well prepared” and will be “well surrounded”, assures Alfred Vernis, professor of strategy at the Esade business school and former executive of the Spanish group. The president of the group will be supported in particular by Oscar García Maceiras, formerly of the banking giant Santander, today general manager of the textile group. “He is the one who will make the executive decisions”emphasizes Mr. Varnish.
