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analysis · transformation · mediation · delivery

Complex analysis,
balanced solutions.

Independent advisory combining technical judgment, business-structure analysis, mediation capacity and executive experience — helping Owners, Public Administrations and Investors resolve complex business situations.

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Strategic improvement and transformation, built on experience.

Four advisory lines for when technical complexity, the business environment or contractual pressure put value creation and strategic planning at risk.

Experience

35+ years leading, executing and operating infrastructure, and driving industrial transformations.

Management

CEO and Managing Director roles with P&L, teams, strategy and stakeholder accountability.

Mediation

Expert witness work and independent judgement that turn technical and contractual conflict into workable settlements.

Delivery

A bias for results, time, cost and quality.

01

Strategic Advisory

Business analysis, feasibility studies, procurement, financial structure, cost and revenue optimisation, and risk mitigation across complex projects and industrial transformations.

02

Expert Witness & Mediation

Technical and economic analysis of disputes, critical review of the contractual framework, evaluation of quantities and prices, and best-practice solutions that close conflict.

03

Executive Transformation

Strategic redefinition, organisational redesign, SWOT analysis, risk control and mitigation, goal-setting and digital transformation in companies under pressure.

04

Corporate Governance

Designing corporate structures that protect ownership value, structure decision-making and channel resources effectively. Delivered in exclusive collaboration with Nexus Governance Partners.

track record

Thirty-five years of leadership.

A selection of mandates where the contribution was hands-on: negotiation, bid leadership, execution, dispute resolution and operational transformation.

2011–2014
Riyadh Metro — Package 3Lines 4, 5 & 6 · Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Negotiated and optimised the consortium composition. As Chairman of the FAST Consortium Executive Committee, led the bid, secured a $480M contract uplift and ran the design-and-build JV.
USD 7.9 B
2016–2017
Hamad International AirportInfrastructure & District Cooling · Doha, Qatar
As CEO of Unicorp, closed five years of disputes with NDIA, securing a QAR 497M claims settlement.
QAR 3.06 B
2013–2016
Doha Metro — Red Line SouthElevated & At-Grade · Qatar
Secured the award and chaired the Executive Committee as FCC representative.
QAR 2.5 B
1989–2026
Road infrastructureHighways and motorways · Spain and Middle East
Delivered and coordinated multiple road projects: Barcelona's Ronda de Dalt, the Mataró–Granollers Motorway (C-60), the Circuit de Montmeló remodelling, the Súria and Cardona bypasses, the Dukhan Highway East Project, and the C-260 and C-65 dual-carriageway expansions.
200 Km+
2002–2010
Servià CantóInfrastructure firm · Girona, Spain
As CEO, scaled the company from €8M to €100M in turnover, implemented systems and procedures, founded an R&D department and brought Servià into the €40M European Fénix Project, while running a granite quarry and four asphalt plants.
12× growth
1995–2026
Marine worksPorts and breakwaters · Catalunya
Worked on the design and delivery of the Ro-Ro Inner Quay at the Port of Barcelona, the breakwater extension at the Port of Palamós and the detached overtopping breakwater at the Port of Llançà.
3 km+
2020–2025
OllearisIndustrial turnaround · Carmona, Spain
As CEO, restored ownership control for shareholders, doubled sales, lifted net result above 20%, motivated staff into higher efficiency and lower absenteeism, and led the construction of a modern manufacturing plant in Carmona (Sevilla) with no outside capital.
20%
660'
founder

Juan Manuel Cadenas.

Civil engineer, senior executive and independent consultant. Based in Girona, with broad international experience in business development, complex project leadership, infrastructure and corporate transformation.

Juan Manuel Cadenas
Team work

Civil engineer trained at the Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya, with executive education at IESE. More than thirty-five years in construction and engineering, first as Project Manager and then as Managing Director and CEO across Spain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. As Middle East Managing Director of FCC Construcción, he sourced and secured the Riyadh Metro Package 3 contract — approximately $7.9 billion, the largest single contract ever awarded to a Spanish construction company — and went on to chair the FAST Consortium that delivered it.

A specialist in corporate transformation, with a career built on a single principle: turning companies with complex problems into stable, profitable organisations ready to grow. Over three decades in Spain, the Middle East and Europe, he has led some of the most demanding turnarounds across engineering, heavy industry, energy, construction and services. His work doesn't only transform companies; it protects shareholder value and strengthens the future of every organisation he works with.

Today he works as an independent advisor and as an expert witness in technical and economic disputes. His practice combines rigorous engineering judgment, deep contractual fluency, and the directness of someone who has sat on both sides of the table.

Education
MSc Civil Engineering, UPC · PADE, IESE
Current role
Senior Partner, Nexus Governance Partners
Board positions
Former Chairman, Spanish Business Council Qatar, Former General Secretary of the Board of ASEFMA (Spanish Association of Asphalt Mix Manufacturers)
Languages
Spanish, English, French, Catalán, Arabic
contact

Start a conversation.

Enquiries for advisory, expert-witness, or governance engagements. References available on request.

Office

Carrer del Cavalls, 27
17481 Sant Julià de Ramis
Girona · España
42.0486° N   2.8451° E