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Santander share price rises as Ana Botin replaces chief exec with José Antonio Álvarez
Banco Santander’s new executive chairman Ana Botin has wasted no time in restructuring the bank, replacing its chief executive within her first two months in the role.
José Antonio Álvarez is the new chief executive of Europe’s biggest bank, taking the place of Javier Marin, who had held the role for less than two years.
Alvarez has been Santander’s chief financial officer for the past 10 years.
The Spanish bank also added three new independent members to its board, including Bruce Carnegie-Brown who previously worked with Botin at Santander UK.
Botin took over as executive chairman of the bank following the sudden death of her father Emilio Botin, who had held the role for over 25 years, in September.
The three new directors appointed to the Banco Santander board take the total number to 15, including five women. A company statement said the board represented “a wide diversity of international perspectives, including the US, the UK, Mexico and Spain”.
Botin commented:
The financial services industry today faces many important challenges. But Banco Santander is uniquely well-positioned to succeed, thanks to our strong local retail and commercial banking presence in 10 European and American markets.Our leadership team’s vision is to create a bank that is ‘Simple, Personal and Fair’ for our teams, our customers, our shareholders and communities.
Shares in Santander rose just under two per cent on the London Stock Exchange following the announcement.
