Zara fashion giant springs surprise by naming founder's daughter as new chairperson

Alantra Equities called the management changes “bad news” as Mr Isla is difficult to replace and the new CEO doesn’t have experience in retail

Shares in Inditex, the Spanish fashion retailer that owns Zara, fell as much as 5% on investor concern the new leadership has less of a track record. File photo: Tim Ireland/PA

Inditex — the Spanish fashion retailer that owns Zara — announced a surprise revamp of its top management by elevating the founder’s daughter and naming a new chief executive officer after just two years.

Marta Ortega, 37, will become chairperson next year, a long-awaited generational change that surprised investors because it was accompanied by the immediate replacement of chief executive Carlos Crespo with Oscar Garcia Maceiras.