Telecoms infrastructure company Cellnex announced its chairman Franco Bernabe (pictured, right) has resigned from the post due to personal reasons, with vice chairman Bertrand Kan temporarily taking on the role.

The move was announced by the tower specialist in a notice to the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), adding Kan will assume the functions of chairing the board until a successor is appointed.

A statement from the firm said Bernabe was at the helm of Cellnex’s board since July 2019 and during his tenure the company experienced “a period of strong growth with strategic decisions,” leading to the group’s position “among the main European telecommunications tower and infrastructure operators.”

It also pointed to its operations expansion to five more countries during Bernabe’s mandate, bringing the total to 12 countries and more than 100,000 overall locations in its portfolio.

It also highlighted key moments in the period, including the takeover of UK-based Arqiva’s telecoms division in October 2019 and the agreement it struck with CK Hutchison in November 2020 to acquire the Hong Kong-based company’s mobile towers in Europe for as much as €10 billion.