Eduardo Ameijide y Montenegro has been the new chair of Mercasa since 30 January, after taking over from Ignacio Cruz Roche.

Mr Ameijide, who holds a law degree, has been a partner and lawyer in law firms specialising in trade, labour, administrative and tax law. He has also held a number of top managerial positions in different private businesses, some of them part of the Banesto Group.

His experience in the public sector includes having been the civil governor of Ciudad Real, Navarre, Huesca and Guipúzcoa, the Spanish Government delegate in Aragon and the general manager of the Spanish Institute for Emigration. Prior to his appointment as the new chair of Mercasa, Mr Ameijide was a technical board member at MUFACE (General Mutual Fund for Civil Servants), a public organisation attached to the Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations.