Ana Botin
Best known for:
Ana is best known for being the CEO of Santander UK, and the 3rd most powerful woman in the UK.
Summary:
Ana Botin became CEO of Santander UK in December 2010, one of Britain's largest banks with 1300 branches nationwide. She is the first woman to run a major British bank. Ana began her career at JP Morgan before joining the family founded Santander group in Spain. Anaran her own private equity business for three years from 1999 before returning to the fold to become executive chair of Banesto. Her father Emilio was the founder of Grupo Santander, and Ana is tipped to take over when he retires.
Biography:
Ana Botin, head of Santander UK, is one of the most powerful people in British finance. Born in Spain and educated in America at Bryn Mawr College and Harvard, she started as a trainee with JP Morgan. In 1988 she joined Santander’s merchant bank. Although the 50-year-old kept a seat on the board, in 1999 she left to establish a venture capital fund in Madrid. In 2002 she returned to the fold, taking the helm at Banesto (88% owned by Santander and one of Spain’s best known medium-sized banks). Last year Ana became chief executive of Santander UK, well known for having taken over Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, and she is readying a £20 billion flotation.
She is the daughter of Spanish billionaire Emilio Botín who is the Executive Chairman of Spain’s Grupo Santander and Paloma O’Shea, 1st Marquise of O’Shea, from whom she is expected to succeed in her title.
She is a frontrunner to take over the entire banking dynasty when her father, Emilio, 76, (who is reportedly the ninth richest person in Spain, worth £1 billion) steps aside. A mother of three, she speaks five languages, is an excellent golfer, and has said: “I started at the bottom. Nobody has given me anything.”
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