Banco Santander has nominated Héctor Blas Grisi Checa to succeed José Antonio Álvarez as group CEO of Banco Santander.

Grisi, currently CEO of Santander Mexico and head of North America, is set to take up the position, subject to customary approvals, from 1 January 2023.

In the group chief executive role, Grisi will report directly to the Board with responsibility for managing all the group’s regions, countries and global businesses.

In December 2019, Mr Grisi was made head of Santander in North America.

He is also a member of the boards of Grupo Financiero Santander México, Banco Santander México, Casa de Bolsa Santander, Santander Consumo, Santander Hipotecario, Santander Vivienda and Santander Holding USA.

Before serving as executive chairman and senior executive vice-president at Grupo Financiero Crédit Suisse (México), from 2001 to 2015, Grisi had served as its head of investment banking from 1997 to 2001.

Grisi will succeed José Antonio Álvarez who has been with the bank since 2002 and was appointed chief financial officer in 2004, before being appointed CEO in January 2015.

Following the transition, Álvarez will remain on the Board as non-executive vice chair.

Commenting in the appointment, Ana Botín, Banco Santander executive chair said: “I am extremely grateful to José Antonio for the exceptional contribution he has made to the bank over the past 20 years.

"His leadership and dedication have been central to Santander’s growth and success. I value his insight and support hugely and am delighted that he will remain on the Board as non-executive vice-chair and will continue to support the bank as we build on the progress of recent years."

She added: “Héctor will be an outstanding successor to José Antonio. He brings decades of experience and a deep understanding of our markets and business, and a proven ability to lead in a collaborative way and create value for both customers and shareholders.

"His track record as CEO of Santander Mexico and head of North America speaks for itself and illustrates why we believe he is the right person to lead the bank in the next phase of our transformation and growth.”

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