Telefonica boss César Alierta talked to Pope Francis on departure

In the days before announcing his departure as chairman and chief executive of Telefonica, César Alierta boarded a private plane for Rome to confer with the Pope about his plan, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Mr Alierta, 70, spoke more than once with Pope Francis as he weighed a change after almost 16 years atop Spain’s former telephone monopoly.

While Telefonica chief operating officer José María Álvarez-Pallete has been heir apparent for more than three years, the decision to leave now came together in the last two to three weeks, the sources said.