By Jeannette Neumann
MADRID--Ana Botín announced her second major round of management
changes at Banco Santander SA, further reshaping the Spanish bank
she took over from her father last year.
Juan Rodríguez Inciarte, a senior executive vice president, is
stepping down from the board of directors for "personal reasons"
and will leave Santander in December after a 30-year career there,
the bank said Tuesday. Mr. Rodríguez Inciarte, a board member since
2008, is widely considered to have been an ally of Emilio Botín,
the former chairman. Mr. Rodríguez Inciarte wasn't immediately
available to comment.
Santander said that Rami Aboukhair will replace Enrique García
Candelas as Spain country head, and Mr. García Candelas will become
vice chairman of Santander's unit in Portugal.
Mr. Aboukhair worked closely with Ms. Botín when she led the
bank's U.K. unit and launched a product called the 1-2-3 account,
seeking to attract new clients with higher interest rates for
deposits than competitors. Mr. Aboukhair has overseen the rollout
of that product in Spain in recent months.
Ms. Botín became executive chairman after her father's death in
September. Two months later she appointed Chief Financial Officer
José Antonio Álvarez as chief executive, replacing a confidante of
her father's, and moved about half the management team into new
positions. Tuesday's announcements deepen her imprint on a bank
that her father had transformed from the world's 152nd-largest bank
by assets in 1986 to the 19th when he died.
"Our goal in making these changes is to have the best qualified
professionals in the right roles," Ms. Botín said in a statement,
adding that the changes complete a management overhaul overseen by
her and Mr. Álvarez.
Santander also announced the creation of a separate board to
oversee the bank's Spain unit. Rodrigo Echenique, a Santander vice
chairman and longtime confidante of both Mr. Botín and his
daughter, will chair the new board.
"This will bring its governance structure in line with the group
model which exists in other country subsidiaries," Santander said
in the statement. The bank's other main units, including those in
the U.K., Brazil and the U.S., have their own separate boards. The
Spanish unit had previously been overseen by the Santander group
board.
Javier San Félix will lead the retail bank in Santander's U.K.
unit, and Ignacio Benjumea, general secretary of the board, will be
replaced by Jaime Pérez Renovales, who had worked at Santander
before leaving to join the Spanish government for several years.
Mr. Benjumea will serve on Santander's group board in a
nonexecutive role and on the board for the Spain unit.
Write to Jeannette Neumann at jeannette.neumann@wsj.com
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