Banco Santander International (BSI) is carrying out a series of changes in the organizational structure of BPI, its international private banking business, which is led by Jorge Rossell.
Under the helm of Alfonso Castillo -who is adding the area of Products and Investments to his current responsibilities over Commercial and Global Private Wealth-, there are new appointments to these three areas, Funds Society was able to learn from sources familiar with the matter.
The former Products and Investments area, which was led by Javier Martín Pliego, is being divided into two units: the Products area which will be led by Isidro Fernández, who will also continue serving as Head of Alternative Investments and Funds; and the Investments area, led by Manuel Pérez Duro, until now responsible for AIS at BSISA (Switzerland and Bahamas). Martin Pliego will remain in Santander Group but is leaving the unit.
Within the internal structure of the Investments area, Carlos Ruiz Antequera is to become Chief Investment Officer, incorporating the investment stragegy team. Verónica López-Ibor will lead the Discretionary Portfolio Management team and Miriam Thaler will take on the role as new head of Investments in BSISA (Switzerland and Bahamas).
The Commercial area, under the new leadership of Eugenio Álvarez, will also experience some notable changes: Juan Araujo will be the new Regional Director for Venezuela. He will be based in Geneva. In addition, Yolanda Gargallo and Borja Echanove are to become BSI Branch Managers in New York and Houston, respectively.
With these changes, which will become effective on January 1, the entity will seek to continue growing in the European and Latin American markets. Since the beginning of 2019, Rossell – head of BPI and CEO of BSI- has been looking to boost the group’s business. He reports to both Victor Matarranz, Head of Santander Wealth Management, and to the recently appointed, Tim Wennes, CEO of Santander in the US. Wennes took on the position at the beginning of this month, after Scott Powell left the firm to become COO of Wells Fargo.
Por Funds Society, Madrid
Por Alicia Miguel Serrano