Spanish bank Santander has completed its succession for its outgoing CEO as a new leader emerges from the bank's ranks, who previously worked for Credit Suisse.
Hector Blas Grisi Checa is set to replace long-time group CEO José Antonio Alvarez at the beginning of 2023, the Spanish bank announced on Friday.
Grisi joined Santander in 2015 having previously spent 18 years at Credit Suisse in Mexico and New York in the firm's Americas business unit. At Santander, he had also taken over the North America region in 2019 after Mexico, making the division the group's strongest profit center.
Failed Orcel Appointment
Santander was already looking to appoint Alvarez' successor in 2019 when former UBS executive and current Unicredit chief Andrea Orcel was nominated as CEO. But disagreements emerged, mainly about the compensation Santander should have used to make up for Orcel's bonus losses due to his departure from UBS. Since then a protracted legal battle has been going on between the Spanish bank and the current head of Italy's Unicredit.
Outgoing Alvarez has been with the Santander for about 20 years, seven of them in the chief executive chair. He will join the bank's board as a non-executive vice-chairman in early 2023.
