Zara's founder's youngest daughter assumes control of the family business enterprise

DNHN - The youngest daughter of Zara's founder - Marta Ortega will become the new president, taking control of the giant fashion group Inditex from April 1st.

Marta Ortega (38 years old) will succeed Pablo Isla as President of Inditex, where he spent over two decades. She worked for the company for 15 years, beginning as a salesperson in London and progressing to larger jobs in sales, branding, and other women's industries. She does not, however, hold an official role with the organization and has never served on its board of directors.

Former President Pablo Isla said:” We have been preparing for this transition for a long time. Marta has been with the company for 15 years. She has led many projects and knows the company like the back of her hand”.

This move will bring this retail brand back to the family business model, after a decade of being run by outsiders. When founder Amancio Ortega (85 years old) ceded the role of full-time manager after he left the position of Chairman in 2011. However, Amancio remains the largest shareholder with a 60% stake in the company, making him one of the richest people on the planet, owning a net worth of $73 billion.

Billionaire Ortega started his business empire in 1975 with his first wife, Rosalia Mera. They sewed their first clothes in a small rented house and built the fashion brand Zara. The couple had two children together, Sandra, and Marcos, and divorced in 1986. Ortega went on to become a pioneer in the fast-fashion industry, with a strategy of keeping inventory low and keeping costs down by introducing out fashion styles faster than the competition.

Marta is the only child of billionaire Ortega and his second wife Flora Perez. She overcame two half-siblings to lead the family business empire.  

Under Marta's supervision, Zara has developed new media campaigns, collaborating with some of the most famous people in fashion (Photo: AFP).

As a child, Marta studied ballet and horseback riding. She competed in nearly 400 equestrian events, according to the International Federation of Equestrian Sports. The Ortega family also built their stables in La Coruna, where Inditex still has its headquarters in 2000.

In 2007, Marta attended a Swiss boarding school and graduated from the European Business School in London. She worked as an assistant at a Zara store in London to better understand how the company works. After that, Marta moved to work at Inditex's headquarters in Galicia (Spain), in charge of building the Zara brand image.

Under Marta's supervision, Zara has developed new media campaigns, collaborating with some of the most famous people in fashion such as American photographer Steven Meisel and Italian director Luca Guadagnino. Marta is credited with helping to position Zara against its competitors by opening stores on trendy streets.

Marta said:” I believe it is critical to establish links between haute couture and the high street, between the past and the present, between technology and fashion, and between art and function”.

Marta Ortega fills the post of President of Inditex in the context of the world economy being damaged by political tensions between Russia – and Ukraine line, prompting Inditex to close 502 stores in Russia. The company's concept of bulk selling low-priced and throwaway clothing is also under criticism as the fashion industry is faced with questions about sustainability and its impact on the world.

Marta, like the other Ortega family members, lives a reclusive life and is less accessible to the media. Marta has a son from her first marriage to Sergio Alvarez Moya and a daughter from her second marriage to Carlos Torretta, whom she married in a grandiose ceremony in 2018.

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