At a shareholders meeting in Madrid, Gastón Bottazzini was named CEO with chairwoman Marta Álvarez saying he is a “key reinforcement” for the company’s growth and to drive forward a new strategic plan.

“Bottazzini’s experience adds to the capacity of the executive committee to achieve an increasingly solid group,” she noted.

Bottazzini has held the position of executive advisor to the president since last February. Previously, he was chief executive of the Chilean department store and retailer Falabella, where he also held various positions for 15 years. He was a partner at McKinsey & Company between 1996 and 2008, focusing mainly on the financial and consumer goods sectors in Latin America, the United States and Spain.

Bottazzini said: “In the months since the president proposed that I join as an executive advisor, I have been able to see the great professional and human qualities of her board and management team, and the future potential of the group.

It is a real honour for me to join a project of the international prestige of El Corte Inglés”.

For the year ending 29 February, the Spanish department store group recorded a global volume of revenues of €16.3bn ($17.64bn) with EBITDA increasing 13.6% to €1.1bn. Net profit was the highest since 2009 at €480m.