The chief executive officer of Mexican builder ICA has died, the company said, dealing a blow to the firm’s efforts to draw up a restructuring plan after a $1.35bn default.
Luis Zarate, who was appointed CEO in February, died of cancer, according to the Mexican news agency Notimex. He was 72. Zarate had worked for more than 40 years in number of of roles at the company, ICA said.
In a statement, ICA said the company’s board will meet “shortly” to appoint a new chief executive.
“I have a lost a friend and Mexico has lost a great engineer,” ICA Chairman Bernardo Quintana said in the statement.
ICA defaulted on its debt payments last year, struggling with a heavy debt load and liquidity problems. The Mexico City-based company has not registered a profit since 2013.