Etisalat announced that Juan Villalonga is to fill one of seven seats assigned to Emirates Investment Authority, the UAE government's sovereign wealth fund. Madrid native Villalonga. who is co-founder and a partner in Hermes Growth Partners, was CEO of Telefónica Group from 1996 to 2000, during which time he grew the company's market capitalisation from $12 billion to over $100 billion. The other six positions on Etisalat's board were filled in March this year are Eissa Mohamed Ghanhem Al Suwaidi (chairman), Essa Abdulfattah Kazim Al Mulla (vice chairman), Hesham Abdulla Qassim Al Qassim (member), Mohamed Sultan Abdulla Mohamed Al Hameli (member), Mariam Saeed Ahmed Saeed Ghobash (member) and Salah Abdulla Ahamd Nasser Looah (member).