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Grifols (NASDAQ:GRFS) announced Monday that Raimon Grifols and Víctor Grifols Deu, members of its founding family, have decided to step down from their executive roles, and Nacho Abia, a former top executive at Japanese MedTech company Olympus (OTCPK:OLYMY) (OTCPK:OCPNF), will become its new CEO.
Current CEO Thomas Glanzmann remains the executive chairman, and Abia will take over the company’s leadership on April 1 and become a board member on Feb. 26.
Raimon Grifols and Víctor Grifols Deu, who were co-CEOs from January 2017 until May 2023, will continue to serve on the GRFS board despite their resignations from their current roles of chief corporate officer and chief operating officer, respectively.
The announcement comes weeks after the hedge fund Gotham City Research accused the Spanish plasma therapeutics company of manipulating its debt and EBITDA figures.
However, Grifols (GRFS) said that the leadership changes were part of succession planning the company’s board initiated in 2022, along with Raimon and Víctor, who represent the third and fourth generations of the Grifols family.
"The board awaited activation until the company’s post-pandemic recovery had solidified,” the company added.