Madrid, 30 January 2026.
Santander today announced the appointment of Mahesh Aditya, currently group chief risk officer (CRO), as Santander UK’s next CEO starting on March 1st, 2026. He will replace Mike Regnier, who decided to step down from the role in October 2025.
Aditya joined Santander in 2017 and has held several executive roles, including group chief risk officer and CEO of Santander Consumer USA, as well as serving recently on the Santander UK board. From his new role, Aditya will oversee the integration of TSB, once the acquisition announced in July 2025 is completed.
Santander also announced that Pedro Castro e Almeida will replace Mahesh Aditya as group chief risk officer (CRO). Pedro Castro, who joined the group in 1993, is currently CEO of Santander Portugal, a position he has held since 2019, during which he transformed the bank into the most efficient and profitable in the country. He also served as the group’s regional head for Europe from 2023 to 2025.
In Portugal, Isabel Guerreiro will succeed Pedro Castro as CEO. Guerreiro is an engineer who has led Digital across the group held senior leadership positions, including as an executive board member in Santander Portugal and as group head of Digital for Europe.
Mahesh and Isabel are proven and highly respected leaders who exemplify Santander’s culture, with a strong ambition for continuous improvement and a consistent track record of doing the right thing year after year for their teams, customers, shareholders and society. Pedro’s understanding of the group’s businesses and disciplined approach to risk makes him the right choice to lead the group’s risk function at this point. These changes demonstrate the depth of our bench of top management team and succession planning discipline, as well as our continued focus on delivering consistently our strategy and creating long-term value.