48-year-old Ferran Reverter was appointed global CEO of the German group Media-Saturn-Holding (MSH), owner of the MediaMarkt chain of home appliance and electronics stores, in October 2018. Now, he will return to Barcelona to become Barça's chief executive in the new era led by president Joan Laporta. Reverter, who will replace Óscar Grau, will join the club on July 1, as he has agreed with MediaMarkt to remain in his position until June 30.
Reverter has developed a successful career within the leading distribution group in the home appliance sector. He joined the company in 2002 as purchasing director for the new technologies area, until in 2005 he was appointed manager of the MediaMarkt store in Mataró, considered one of the most profitable in Spain. The company promoted him to operations director of the Spanish subsidiary in 2011 and only two years later he acceded to the position of CEO in Spain. His good management was again rewarded and Reverter was called to take up a position at MediaMarkt's headquarters in Germany. Thus, in 2015 he became the chain's global operations director and at the end of 2018 he jumped to the position of global CEO.
The appointment of Ferran Reverter as the new general director of Barça, anticipated by the portal 2Playbook, was announced on election Sunday by the German listed group Ceconomy, owner of MediaMarktSaturn. In a statement, the multinational's board of directors thanked the Catalan executive for "the great successes achieved and the strong commitment" shown towards MediaMarkt during the almost two decades he has been part of the group. "In the last two and a half years, Reverter has done an exceptional job under difficult conditions. He leaves behind a more resilient and well-positioned company with many growth opportunities. We wish him all the best in his new task in his hometown, Barcelona," highlighted Thomas Dannenfeldt, chairman of the Ceconomy board.
For his part, the future general director of Barça has explained that "it has been extremely difficult" to make the decision to leave MediaMark, "the company that has been my professional home for the last 18 years." "Now I want to open a new chapter in my life. To have the opportunity to play an important role in shaping the future of the biggest and most famous club in the world, and to do it in my hometown, where my family lives, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Reverter assured.
The Ceconomy group, which is listed on the German stock exchange, has a turnover of 20.8 billion euros, has more than a thousand appliance stores across Europe, and employs more than 53,000 people.