Iberdrola said that following the proposal of the appointments committee, chief executive Jose Ignacio Sanchez Galan would remain as executive chairman of the company.

Martinez has been head of the company's business division.

As opposed to the anglo-saxon corporate governance model, the main executive at large Spanish companies is the chairman, who is in charge of the company's strategy, while the CEO is tasked with overseeing daily business decisions.

Galan has been at the helm of Iberdrola for more than 16 years, during which time he has made it one of the world's leading renewable power generators.

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado)