Born in Salamanca (Spain) in 1950, he graduated as an Industrial Engineer from ICAI of Universidad Pontificia de Comillas.

He is Executive Chairman of Iberdrola. He is also Chairman of ScottishPower, AVANGRID and Neoenergia, the country subholding companies of the Group in the UK, the US and Brazil, respectively. Since he joined Iberdrola in 2001, his vision for international expansion and the need for electrification through renewable energies, networks and energy storage has transformed the company into one of the largest in the sector, with presence in dozens of countries.

He holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde in the UK, and the University of Salamanca in Spain. Ignacio Galán is currently a Chairman of the Social Council of the University of Salamanca, as well as Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde, and a Patron of the Comillas-ICAI University Foundation. He is also on the Presidential CEO Advisory Board of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ignacio Galán is member of the World Economic Forum, the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), the JP Morgan International Council and of the UNICEF Generation Unlimited Global Leadership Council.

Among other recognitions, in 2023 Mr. Galán has received the Business Leadership in Energy Transition award, from the Periódico de la Energía, and has named Best CEO in the European utilities sector for the twelfth time, by the Institutional Investor Research. He has also received the Medal of Honour from the World Jurists Association at the United Nations and the ESG Leadership Award given by The Foreign Policy Association. In 2019 he was selected as one of the best five world CEOs on the Harvard Business Review ranking, and he was recognized by Bloomberg as one of the 30 leaders in the fight against climate change.

Ignacio Galán was also named Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014.