What is Alfredo Sáenz Abad’s Net Worth?
Alfredo Sáenz Abad is a Spanish businessman who has a net worth of $120 million. Alfredo Sáenz Abad is the former CEO and Vice-Chairman of the Spanish bank Santander Group, the largest bank in the Eurozone and among the biggest banks in the world by market capitalization.
He also held roles as Deputy Manager at Banco de Vizcaya, Vice Chairman and CEO at Banco Santander and president of the BDK Financial Group. Moreover he taught at the University of Deusto and was part of the European Advisory Council at Air Products & Chemicals. He has been awarded Spain’s Gold Medal and the Manager Award for his contributions over the years.
Career
Alfredo Saenz Abad was born on November 21, 1942. He started out as an Executive Manager of Tubacex S.A. in 1965 and worked with the stainless steel manufacturer until 1980. In 1983 he went into banking, working as the CEO and Chairman of Banca Catalana. He held the position until 1988. That same year, he joined Banco Bilbao Vizcaya as CEO and Chairman before assuming the role of Chairman at Banco Español de Crédito in 1993. He later became the First Deputy Chairman at Inmobiliaria Urbis S.A. in 1998.
In 1994 Saenz joined Banco Santander as a board member. His career progressed quickly and he was promoted to Vice Chairman and CEO in 2002, a position he held until 2013. During his tenure Santander aggressively expanded, acquiring several banks and establishing itself as a banking powerhouse. He stepped down as CEO on April 29, 2013 amid a long-running legal battle with the Bank of Spain dating back to 1994.
In 2012 Alfredo was voted second-best CEO in European Banking. Under his leadership Banco Santander was also crowned the Best Bank in the World by the business magazine Euromoney that same year.
Saenz said goodbye to Banco Santander in 2013, paving the way for Javier Marín Romano to step in. He walked away with a hefty €88 million lump-sum retirement package after 19 years of service to the bank.
In February 2016 he was appointed president of the BDK Financial Group, founded by Alberto Cortina and the parent company of the Bank of Dakar, based in Senegal’s capital. A few weeks later, on March 8, Saenz acquired a 5% stake in BDK Financial Group.
Saenz also taught at the University of Deusto from 1965 to 1984. A year later he became a member of the International Academy Of Management then joined the European Advisory Council of Air Products & Chemicals from 1997 to 2000 followed by the International Advisory Board of London Business School in 1999. In 2000 he chaired the European Financial Management & Marketing Association. Additionally, Alfredo held roles in foundations such as Foundation Conde de Barcelona, Foundation Empresa y Sociedad, Foundation Cruz Roja Española and Foundation Ayuda Contra la Drogadicción.
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Accolades
Alfredo Saenz has quite an impressive list of accolades. In 1998 he received the Spanish government’s Gold Medal (Medalla de Oro al Mérito en el trabajo) for merit in work. In 2006 the consulting firm AT Kearney awarded him the Manager Award for the best manager in financial institutions. Then in 2012 he was picked second-best CEO of European banks according to a poll by Institutional Investor magazine. This recognition came from 1,470 analysts across 150 companies.
Ban
In 2011 the Spanish Supreme Court banned Sáenz from working as a banker for three months after a long legal battle with the Bank of Spain. This stemmed from a 2009 conviction where he was found guilty of making false accusations against supposed debtors to Banesto (now part of Santander) leading to the temporary imprisonment of the accused in 1994. Despite this Santander announced that Saenz would appeal the decision and continue working.
If his conviction stood, Saenz would have lost his job so he made a deal with the authorities which converted his prison sentence into a pardon and reduced the penalty to a nominal fine. However, in February 2013 the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that the government had overstepped its authority in pardoning him, prompting the Bank of Spain to reopen the case.
Saenz decided to retire from Banco Santander in 2013 which ultimately spared him from a potential industry ban.
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