Banco Santander’s board of directors has resolved to name Gina Díez Barroso as a new independent director after Rodrigo Echenique‘s departure, announced the bank in a press release. The board has also agreed to appoint Alejandro Butti as the new CEO and country head of Santander Argentina.
Díez Barroso is a Mexican entrepreneur, founder and president of Diarq Group, an architecture and design company that carries out real estate projects in Mexico and the United States. She has career of more than 20 years in the real estate and education sectors, in addition to the experience she acquired in banking as an independent director of Banco Santander Mexico. She is also the founder and president of Universidad Centro, Mexico City’s first university specializing in creative studies.
With this appointment, which will be submitted for ratification at the next general shareholders’ meeting of Santander, Díez Barroso will fill the vacancy left by Rodrigo Echenique, who will step down from his role as director after 32 years at the Santander Group. He also left his executive positions as vice chairman of the bank and chairman of Santander Spain in May 2019.
“Gina Díez Barroso has vast knowledge of the US and Mexico, two of the group’s most important markets. She will also add additional expertise in areas such as real state, banking, education, and sustainable business. Her arrival means 40% of our board will be women”, said the bank’s executive chairman, Ana Botín.
She also highlighted the “privilege and honor” it has been to work with Echenique. “He has been pivotal to the growth and success of Banco Santander over the last 30 years, from the launch of the Supercuenta in 1989 to the recent acquisition of Banco Popular”, she added.
With the addition Díez Barroso, the board of directors of Santander will continue to be made up of 15 members, 10 of whom are independent directors.
New country head for Argentina
The board has also agreed to appoint Alejandro Butti as the new CEO and country head of Santander Argentina, subject to regulatory approvals. He will report to Head of South America, Sergio Rial. Butti, who has been with Grupo Santander for over 25 years, is a member of Santander Argentina’s executive committee and, until now, headed Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) in Argentina.
“Sergio Lew, who has played an important role in driving Santander Argentina’s growth in the last two and a half years, will return to the CIB business in the United States, where he has spent a large part of his professional career and collaborated to implement a global service model with a focus on Latin America. He will remain as country head of Santander Argentina until 31 March 2021 to ensure a smooth transition”, revealed the bank in the press release.