Veolia has appointed Daniel Tugues as its new Country Director for Spain, starting May 1, 2025. This appointment underscores the company’s dedication to Spain as a vital market in its global ecological transformation strategy, unifying its operations in water, energy, and waste management.
In his new position, Tugues will manage all of Veolia’s activities in Spain, including overseeing Aigües de Barcelona, a key mixed-ownership utility partnership. His focus will be on enhancing operational efficiency while advocating for sustainable and innovative solutions through the One Veolia model and the GreenUp strategic initiative.
Spain is pivotal to Veolia’s worldwide strategy, with over 14,000 employees and significant potential to demonstrate integrated environmental services that bolster local resilience and sustainable growth.
Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, emphasized that Spain is central to the company’s ecological transformation vision. She noted that the One Veolia approach and the GreenUp program leverage the group’s expertise to deliver impactful solutions that address increasing client needs while fostering community resilience. Brachlianoff highlighted that Tugues’s extensive experience as CEO of Aguas Andinas, along with his strategic leadership, will be crucial for Veolia’s goals in Spain, especially in ongoing collaborations like that with Aigües de Barcelona.
Tugues brings over 20 years of experience in environmental services and utilities. He began his career in 2004 at Agbar in Spain as a business analyst before moving to Chile, where he held senior roles such as Business Development Manager at Aqualogy Chile and Operations Manager at Suez Chile. In 2017, he returned to Spain to lead Suez Recycling & Recovery Spain, later returning to Chile to join Aguas Andinas, where he became Chief Operating Officer and then CEO in 2023.
At Aguas Andinas, Tugues initiated Biociudad, a strategy aimed at bolstering Santiago’s climate resilience by promoting water reuse, developing alternative sources, and implementing nature-based solutions to ensure water availability for over eight million residents. He also played a key role in national infrastructure policy as Chair of the Water Resources Committee of the Chilean Infrastructure Policy Council (CPI), collaborating with various stakeholders to tackle critical water issues.
Tugues expressed that assuming this strategic role in his home country is both an honor and a significant responsibility. He committed to supporting local teams and leveraging his international experience to create a lasting impact in the communities served by Veolia, emphasizing the company’s goal of fostering growth, resilience, innovation, and shared success throughout Spain.
Tugues holds a Civil Engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, an MBA from IESE Business School, and a Master’s in Integrated Water Management from Agbar-UPC.
In addition to Tugues’s appointment, Veolia has named Rafael Villaseca as Non-Executive Chairman of Veolia Spain. Villaseca, the former CEO of Gas Natural Fenosa, will focus on institutional representation and engagement with key stakeholders, further enhancing the group’s presence in the Spanish market.
These appointments reinforce Veolia’s leadership in Spain, aiming to usher in a new phase of growth through integrated, sustainable, and resilient environmental solutions that cater to the evolving needs of municipalities, industry, and society.
Source: Violia
