Spain-based operator Telefónica has made several new senior appointments as part of a wider effort to revamp the business and address its debt problem.

José María Álvarez-Pallete has been promoted to the group chief operating officer position just a year after he was made chairman and chief executive of Telefónica Europe.

Former investment banker Eva Castillo takes on the role made vacant by Álvarez-Pallete's upward move and is charged with turning round a division that is suffering, particularly in its home market of Spain.

Santiago Fernández Valbuena, chairman and CEO of Telefónica Latin América, joins the board of directors, while Eduardo Navarro, director of strategy and alliances, joins the executive committee.

The merry-go-round was caused by the resignation of COO Julio Linares Lopez who leaves for personal reasons after 40 years with the company.

The company said the appointments will help to create a new organisational structure making it "stable over time and ready to compete internationally".

It is a testing time for Telefónica, which in July was forced to suspend its dividend for a year and cut directors' pay amid the spiralling problems in the Spanish economy and a huge net debt amounting to €57 billion.

Last week, the operator signed a €900 million credit facility with two Chinese banks to enable "the purchasing of products and solutions" around the world.

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