About

Grupo ACCIONA is a conglomerate with various business units dedicated largely towards renewable energy infrastructure. ACCIONA operates in a number of key areas, including water, energy, infrastructure, construction and others; each of these entities is relatively distinct from one another and contains their own business support functions. Former head of legal for the energy company, Jose Julio Figueroa, has recently taken over the group head of legal role, and inherits a team with a broad remit that has to rationalise and respond to the disparate needs and requirements of the group companies. This provides its own challenges, as does the company’s recent rapid pace of growth. In particular, major new wind farm projects in Mexico and Portugal are in the making, and the company has been active in terms of its M&A activity, with their acquisition of Australian construction firm Geotech for around AU$262m. Julio has had a meteoric career with Grupo ACCIONA, and has advanced into his current role at a below average age. One source stated: ‘He is very calm and at the same time very energetic with a very clear vision on how to deal with and manage the legal risk in such a giant company’. As the team has grown and developed, individuals have ‘been able to integrate a wide range of very talented lawyers’ into an effective and efficient structure.