CEO of Spanish defence firm Indra follows chairman out of the door (updated)

Indra Sistemas SA

18/05/2026 20:37

Recasts with background

May 18 (Reuters) - Spanish defence firm Indra IDR.MC said on Monday that its Chief Executive Officer Jose Vicente de ​los Mozos' contract will not be renewed, just a month after chairman Angel Escribano resigned amid government pressure.

The firm, which is 28% owned by the Spanish government through state holding company SEPI,  said in a filing to the stock market regulator that de los Mozos would remain in post while it sought a successor.

His departure comes at a turbulent time for Indra. Escribano resigned in April following months of controversy over his push for the company to acquire defence manufacturer Escribano Mechanical & Engineering, which he and his brother Javier co-owned.

Escribano had argued that Indra, which specialises in radars, needed an industrial partner to expand into military machinery and become a major European defence player.

However, the proposed deal raised concerns among some shareholders over a conflict of interest, prompting SEPI to push for a resolution. Indra is expected to benefit from a 10.5 billion euro ($12.23 billion) increase in defence spending announced by the Spanish government last year.

That came as U.S. President Donald Trump called on NATO allies to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defence, though Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has resisted going as far.

($1 = 0.8584 euro

(Reporting by Dagmarah Mackos and Aislinn Laing;
Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Sanjeev Miglani)

((dagmarah.mackos@thomsonreuters.com;))