7 Things You Didn't Know About Ana Patricia Botín

Ana Patricia Botín - Executive chairman of Banco Santander

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Ana Patricia Botín has been named by Forbes as one of the most powerful women in the world, and as the executive chairman of Banco Santander, she's worth $8 billion on her own, according to Forbes. How did she get there? She's the daughter of the legendary Emilio Botín, the previous chairman of Banco Santander who died in 2014 at age 85. Let's take a look at 7 things you didn't know about Ana Patricia Botín.

1) She is a businesswoman

Ana Patricia Botín has served as Group Executive Chairman of Banco Santander since 2012, making her one of Europe’s most powerful businesswomen. She is also currently serving as vice president and a member of Group Management Committee of Banco Santander. She began her career in 1978, joining BBV where she spent five years working in market research before taking over control of Instalaza, a family-owned company that manufactured construction materials. In 1990, she moved to Grupo Santander with her husband and co-founder Emilio Botin who had bought out troubled Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo (CAM) from Spain’s government for $1.

2) She runs Spain's largest bank, Banco Santander

Ana Patricia Botín is an executive of Banco Santander, S.A., which is headquartered in Madrid and has a presence in more than 50 countries. She's also a member of its Board of Directors and Executive Committee; both her father Emilio Botín—the bank's founder—and brother António are also on that board. Ana is currently ranked as one of Forbes' most powerful women in Europe and has become one of Spain's richest women by serving as Chairwoman of Banco Santander since 2004 and CEO since 2010. In 2015, she was named to Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list for a fifth time since 2007, while Financial Times named her their Person of the Year 2013, a ranking that put her ahead of President Barack Obama and Pope Francis.

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3) She has been with Santander since she was 21 years old

Ana Patricia is daughter of José Botín, former president of Santander Group and vice-president and director of Banco Santander S.A., one of Spain’s largest banks. Ana started working at her father’s bank, then named Banco Santañer Internacional in 1986, when she was 21 years old and studying Business Administration at Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Comillas Pontifical University). At that time, she became one of Spain’s youngest top executives. In 2007, she became Santander Group’s Executive Chairman for Latin America.

4) Her mother (Ainhoa Garmendia Arruabarrena de Guzmán) worked at the bank, too.

Ana’s mother, Ainhoa Garmendia Arruabarrena de Guzmán, was also a woman who broke through barriers: she became Banco Santander’s first female executive. As Ana grew up, she and her mother would talk about what she wanted to achieve in life. I thought I wanted to be like her, Ana said in an interview with Forbes Europe. Ana went on to become president of Banco Santander and Ainhoa became vice chairperson of Sociedad Económica Matritense, one of Spain’s oldest banks. (source)

5) When she became chairman in 2016, the bank was her family's main business holding.

Ana Patricia Botín, chairman of Santander bank, is not a newcomer to top-level business management. She took over for her father, Emilio Botín Sanz de Sautuola y García de los Ríos, who headed Santander for some 30 years before his death in 2014. The family owns a majority stake in Santander. When she became chairman in 2016, it was her family's main business holding. Ana Patrica has led Spanish companies as president of Banco Español de Negocios (BANES) and as head of Spanish technology company Telefónica SA.

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6) She travels by bicycle because she wants to lead by example

If I drive, other people will be able to see me, and hopefully will get inspired. Botín was invited by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to participate in a panel discussion on gender equality at the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting; it's an idea that makes sense given her position as one of Spain's most influential women, who recently ranked 22nd on Forbes' list of 100 Most Powerful Women in 2013. An economist by training, Botín began working for Santander when she was just 23 years old and quickly rose through corporate ranks until she became vice chairman and CEO in 2004.

7) She majored in English literature and linguistics at university.

Ana Patricia Botín holds a degree in English literature and linguistics from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. A few years later, she earned a postgraduate diploma in banking and finance from Instituto de Empresa Business School. Ana Patricia Botín never finished her studies because she was hired by Santander as an analyst right after graduating, thus beginning her banking career. Nowadays, Ana Patricia Botín is one of Spain’s most powerful women, but all of that would not have been possible if she hadn’t started working at such a young age.