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.
Alfredo also held roles as Deputy Manager at Banco de Vizcaya, Vice Chairman and CEO at Banco Santander, and president of the BDK Financial Group. He taught at the University of Deusto and was part of the European Advisory Council at Air Products & Chemicals. For his contributions over the years, he has been awarded Spain's Gold Medal and the Manager Award.
Career
Alfredo Sáenz 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, Alfredo 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, Sáenz 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.
Sáenz 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, Sáenz acquired a 5% stake in BDK Financial Group.
Sáenz 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 Sáenz has 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 Alfredo 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 accused's temporary imprisonment in 1994. Despite this, Santander announced that Sáenz would appeal the decision and continue working.
If his conviction stood, Sáenz 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.
Sáenz decided to retire from Banco Santander in 2013, which ultimately spared him from a potential industry ban.
