Ana Botin, President of Banco Santander, was elected President of the Board (IIF). In this mannerwill be the first woman to lead the group, considered the largest banking lobby in its 40-year history, the organization reports today.

Botin was unanimously elected by the IIF Board of Directors this Thursday, during the annual meeting held by the global financial industry association in Washington, DC (USA), October 10-14.

Botin has been a board member of the IIF since 2014. replace Axel Weber, a board member of the UBS Group, whose term expires at the end of the year. As such, Botin will begin his presidency in January 2023, coinciding with the organization’s 40th anniversary.

“Having served with Ana for many years on the Board of Directors, I am delighted to welcome her as the new President of IFF,” said Tim Adams, President and CEO of IIF. As for the outgoing president, Adams highlighted his “strong and deep leadership” over the past five years.

Botin was named Executive President of Banco Santander in September 2014., after the death of his father Emilio Botin. He previously began his career in the financial sector in New York where he spent eight years in corporate and investment banking at JP Morgan.

In 1988, he left the United States and settled in Santander. and spearheaded the expansion of the group in Latin America. In 2002 she became CEO of Banesto Spain and in 2010 she was appointed CEO of Santander UK.

Botin is President of the European Banking Federation, a member of the Board of Directors of Coca Cola and an advisory board of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In addition to Botin, there are two more Spaniards on the board of the IIF: the president of the BBVA, Carlos Torres and Standard Chartered President Jose Viñals.