Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva is a 1987 graduate of the Spanish Naval Academy.
In 1989 he earned his US Navy wings, becoming a Naval Aviator. He then flew the AV-8V PLUS on board the Spanish carrier ‘PRINCIPE DE ASTURIAS.’ During that period, he was also appointed as an exchange pilot with the Spanish Air force, flying the EF-18 A+ and taking part in the B-H conflict, where he flew several combat missions deployed from Aviano AB, Italy.
He has commanded the gun patrol boat ‘P-11 BARCELO’, the high seas patrol boat ‘P-63 ARNOMENDI’, the LST ‘L-42 PIZARRO’, the Fleet Air Arm ‘FLOAN’ and the Airfield of the Rota Naval Base. He was the Director of the Fleet Naval Aviation School and the CO of the 9th HARRIER Squadron. Ashore, he has served in a variety of assignments, most notably as a staff officer in the International Relations Department at the Navy HQ, as ACOS N3 in the SPMARFOR High Readiness Maritime HQ, and as Head of the Operations department at the Spanish Fleet HQ. Abroad he was stationed in Mons, Belgium, serving at SHAPE J5 as the ACO capability requirements and force planning officer; and in Pristina, Kosovo, working as UN peace observer and liaison officer between KFOR HQ and UNMIK HQ.
Additionally, he has attended several national and NATO courses including the NATO perational Planning, NATO Staff Officer Defense Planning and NATO expeditionary operations courses. He graduated with distinction from the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, after having completed the Naval Staff and the Naval Command Courses in years 2001 and 2018 respectively. He also obtained a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the same US Naval War College. His academic background is completed with a job as a professor at the High Defense Studies Center in Madrid, Spain.
He was promoted to Rear Admiral on the 5th December 2019. As Flag Officer he has been appointed as 2nd Commander of the Spanish High Readiness Maritime HQ and DCOM SPMARFOR. He was appointed as Force Commander of the EU NAVFOR Somalia Op Atalanta on board the frigates NUMANCIA and SANTA MARIA. On 26 February 2021 he was appointed as COS Spanish Fleet HQ, being promoted to Vice Admiral on 3 November.
He has several national Navy medals, one UN medal, one UE medal, one NATO medal and one SPAF medal, and numerous awards and citations.
He is married to Matilde and has four children.
Commodore Alexandre Serrano was born on October 16th, 1967. He joined the Naval Academy, on November 1st, 1986, and completed his degree in Naval Military Sciences - Navy Course - in 1991.
After being promoted to Ensign, he served onboard the patrol ship NRP Zaire as Executive Officer. Later, in May 1992, he took command of the patrol boat NRP Águia, remaining until the end of August of the following year.
From September 1993 until mid-1994, he attended the Specialization Course in Artillery for Officers. He then served aboard the frigate NRP Roberto Ivens as Head of the Action Information Organization, a position he held between September 1994 and June 1995.
In June 1999 he went back on board, this time on the frigate NRP Álvares Cabral, where he served as Above Water Principal Warfare Officer and, at the end of the commission, as Operations Officer.
Later, between June 2007 and May 2009, he assumed the command of the corvette NRP Jacinto Cândido. During his tenure, in the context of the European Union intervention, he actively participated in the effort to combat illegal immigration through the sea, carrying out several patrol rounds off the coast of Senegal and Gambia, during the summer of 2007.
Between July 2011 and May 2012, he served as Chief of Staff of the Standing NATO Maritime Group One – SNMG1. During this period, he also participated in NATO operations to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia – Operation Ocean Shield – and in Operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean.
In his last sea tour, between September 2013 and 2015, he returned to NRP Álvares Cabral as commanding officer, having had the opportunity to participate in the efforts of the disaster relief operation DJARFOGO in support of the affected population of Fogo’s Island – Cape Vert – struck by the volcano’s eruption at the end of 2014.
On June 4th, 2018, he was promoted to captain, and on October 7th, 2019, he took charge as the dual-hatted commander of the Surface Squadron and Portuguese Naval Force ending his tour on November 4th, 2021. Later, on 14th December 2022 he took command of the Portuguese Joint Immediate Reaction Force (FRI) in which capacity was actively involved in the repatriation of nationals from several countries before ending his tenure by the end of 2024.
Regarding his academic training, he holds a post-graduate degree in Maritime Transportation Management and Port Management, from the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão de Lisboa since 2006; and an MSc in Security Management, from the Liverpool John Moores University since 2020.
Throughout his career, he has received several commendations and has been awarded several national and NATO medals. Commodore Alexandre Serrano is married to Maria de Fátima and has two children Gil and Sara.