Benita Ferrero-Waldner, a native of Salzburg (Austria), holds a PhD in Law and was European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, finally, for Trade. She was formerly Austria's Minister for Foreign Affairs, candidate for the Presidency of Austria in 2004, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Aid, Head of Protocol at the UN and a career diplomat for Austria.

In the private sector, Ferrero-Waldner is currently a director of MunichRe, one of the world's leading reinsurance companies, and a member the Advisory Board of Architect Norman Foster. She is also a trustee of the Principe de Girona Foundation and FRIDE (Foundation for International Relations and Dialogue).

The Board of Directors of FCC considers that Ferrero-Waldner's accredited experience and knowledge, accumulated during a brilliant career in diplomacy and government, and her vision of the process of constructing the European Union can contribute considerable value for Alpine's expansion, through her membership of the Supervisory Board, which is chaired by Dietmar Aluta-Oltyan.

Alpine Holding GmbH heads a construction group with headquarters in Salzburg and operations in 30 countries. It obtains 3.2 billion euro in annual revenues and has 14,000 employees. Alpine is one of the leading infrastructure construction and industrial services companies in Central and Eastern Europe, with a particularly strong position in Austria and Germany (which represent two-thirds of its revenues).

FCC, whose principal shareholder is Esther Koplowitz, took a major step forward in its process of internationalisation with the acquisition of Alpine in 2006; currently, FCC obtains 45% of its revenues outside the Spanish market. At the end of 2010, FCC Construction (which includes Alpine) had a backlog of over 10 billion euro, equivalent to 18 months' billing.