Banco Santander is to appoint Ignacio Juliá, formerly CEO of ING for Spain and Portugal, as CEO of Santander Spain. Juliá will replace Ángel Rivera from 1 October 2024, pending necessary regulatory approvals. His appointment will help progress in transforming the business model to provide better customer service and, at the same time, generate further growth and efficiency.
Ignacio Juliá has been key in ING’s journey since its launch as the first digital bank in Spain in 1999. Serving as CEO of ING for Spain and Portugal since 2021, he previously held roles as Chief Financial and Risk Officer and head of retail business. From this position, together with the CEO, he spearheaded changes that transformed ING to move from a product-oriented bank to a customer-centric organization through digital channels. Beyond his career in Spain, Ignacio Juliá developed his career in Poland, where he also led the retail banking business. In 2016, he was appointed global head of Retail Banking at ING, a role he combined with that of global head of Innovation.
Ángel Rivera joined the group in April 2013 as head of distribution in the branch network in Spain. He was also head of the group’s Commercial Banking division between 2015 and 2017 and played a key role in the bank’s commercialtransformation in Mexico. In 2020, he rejoined Santander Spain, where he has been CEOfor almost two years after having been the head of Commercial Banking in Spain.
Rivera, who will remain at the bank until the end of the year to support the transition, leaves the group to develop his career in other areas of the business world, after more than 30 years in the financial sector and having exceeded the goals set for him when he was appointed CEO of Santander Spain, with more than one million customers attracted while generating recurring, profitable growth.
Ana Botín, chairman of Banco Santander said: ”We are delighted to announce the incorporation of Ignacio Juliá as CEO of Santander Spain. He is a young professional, with great experience in transformation projects similar to our own. I am convinced that his experience and profile will help us accelerate the implementation of global platforms and boost the growth of Santander Spain. I would like to thank Ángel Rivera for his contribution to the group and for his leadership in Santander Spain, which has allowed us to make great progress in building a more customer-oriented and responsible bank.”
