Ana Botín-Sanz de Sautuola y O'Shea

GROUP EXECUTIVE CHAIR

Executive director

Joined the board in 1989.

Nationality: Spanish. Born in 1960 in Santander, Spain.

Education: Degree in Economics from Bryn Mawr College (Pennsylvania, United States).

Experience: She joined Banco Santander after working at JP Morgan (New York, 1980-1988). In 1992 she was appointed senior executive vice president. Between 1992 and 1998 she led the expansion of Santander in Latin America.

From 2002 to 2010 she was executive chair of Banesto, such entity being commended as the Best Bank in Spain by Euromoney for three consecutive years during that period. From 2010-2014 she was CEO of Santander UK and she has been non-executive director until April 2021. During her role as CEO of Santander UK, she led the transformation of three former building societies into one of Britain’s most innovative banks. She has also been non-executive director of Santander UK Group Holdings plc (2014-2021). In 2019, she was appointed as a non-executive director of Santander Holdings USA, Inc. and of Santander Bank, N.A. and in 2020 as the chair of PagoNxt, S.L. She has been chair of the European Banking Federation from 2021 to February 2023.

Since 2014 she has led a cultural, commercial and technological transformation of the Group, focused on boosting customer trust and loyalty. Under her leadership, Santander has established a clear purpose: to help people and businesses prosper in a way that is simple, personal and fair. The Group is committed to acting responsibly on behalf of its employees, customers, shareholders and the communities where it operates.

Her commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth is reflected in her philanthropic activities. She is the founder and Chair of CyD Foundation, which supports and promotes the contribution made by Spanish universities to economic and social development in the country, and Empieza por Educar Foundation, the Spanish subsidiary of the international NGO Teach for All which trains talented young graduates to be teachers. She is also chair of Universia Holding, S.L. and of Universia España Red de Universidades, S.A., which is considered one of the largest university co-operation networks focused in Latin America, comprising over a thousand universities.

Other positions of note: She sits on member of the board of directors of The Coca-Cola Company and on the advisory board of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  She also chairs the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

Membership of board committees: Executive committee (chair) and innovation and technology committee (chair).