In place of Samantha Ricciardi, who will officially leave the firm this Friday, the asset manager has appointed Miguel Ángel Sánchez Lozano as interim global CEO. According to an internal statement, he will take on these responsibilities alongside his current role as head of distribution for the Santander network at Santander Asset Management (SAM).
With this appointment, the firm re-establishes visible leadership following the announcement of Samantha Ricciardi’s departure. The move comes as the bank has just completed the integration of its two asset managers, Santander Asset Management and Santander Private Banking Gestión, creating a single entity with approximately €127 billion in assets under management.
A Homegrown Professional
Sánchez Lozano joined the SAM Group in January 2019 as CEO of Santander Asset Management and Santander Pensiones in Spain. Prior to this, he held various roles within Grupo Santander. Before taking on his role at SAM Spain, he served as head of investment product distribution at Santander Corporate and Investment Banking. In 2013, he joined Grupo Santander as head of treasury product distribution (FX & FI and RSP) at Santander Global Corporate Banking.
Before joining Santander, he was deputy general manager at Banesto, where he was responsible for treasury product distribution. Earlier at Banesto, he also served as head of investment products. Miguel Ángel began his professional career at Banesto in 1996, where he held roles in FX & equity trading and structuring.
He holds a degree in economics from CEU Luis Vives, and two postgraduate qualifications: a General Management Program from IESE and a master’s degree in financial markets from CEU. He has also completed the Advanced Specialization Program in Options and Financial Futures from the Options and Futures Institute and a behavioral finance program from the Chicago Booth School of Economics.
