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Meet our leadership team.

Santander Bank, N.A. Management

Meet our leaders—the inspired individuals who direct, support, and empower our 9,800 colleagues to carry out our mission of providing you with easy–to–use banking products and services. While their personal stories reflect a variety of backgrounds, skills, and experiences, our leaders all share a collective passion for helping our customers and communities make progress.
Tim Wennes headshot

Timothy H. Wennes

Santander US CEO and Country Head President and Chief Executive Officer, Santander Bank, N.A.

Tim Wennes is the Santander US Chief Executive Officer and Country Head, as well as President and Chief Executive Officer of Santander Bank, N.A. (SBNA). He is responsible for establishing and executing Santander US’s long-range plans and growth strategies, and in SBNA he has direct oversight for all consumer, business, corporate and commercial banking functions. He is a member of the SHUSA and SBNA Boards of Directors.

Tim joined Santander as President and CEO in September 2019, and was named Santander US CEO in December 2019. He has 30 years of experience in banking, and most recently served as West Coast President and Head of the Regional Bank at MUFG Union Bank where he had oversight of Commercial Banking, Real Estate Industries, Consumer Banking and Wealth Management. He was also responsible for the bank’s Enterprise Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility programs.

Tim is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He also holds an MBA in International Business from California State University Fullerton.

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Patrick D. Smith

Head of Consumer & Business Banking
Santander Bank, N.A.


Patrick Smith leads Consumer & Business Banking at Santander Bank, N.A., and is a member of the U.S. leadership team. He is responsible for driving the strategy for Santander’s network of over 400 branches and 1,200 ATMs, small business banking, corporate & social responsibility, digital, retail operations, and investments. He brings a combination of banking experience and customer focus that position him for success as he leads the execution of Santander’s Consumer & Business Banking strategy.

Prior to joining Santander in 2020, Patrick served as executive vice president and Head of Commercial Digital at KeyBank, as well as a member of the company’s executive council. Over his nearly 30-year career in financial services, Patrick held a variety of leadership positions at Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Capital One. Previously, he also worked in Accenture’s strategy practice servicing clients globally.

Patrick received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an MS in IT Management from the University of Virginia, and a BS in Finance from Tuskegee University. 

Currently, Patrick serves on the boards of BDC Capital and Boeing Employee Credit Union.

Michael Lee

Michael Lee

Managing Director of Commercial Real Estate Banking

Michael A. Lee is responsible for the Bank's commercial real estate strategy that includes a $17 Billion loan portfolio as well as the management of a $3 Billion serviced portfolio.

Mike joined Santander in 2009 and has been employed in the financial services industry for over three decades. He has spent the majority of his career in lending and risk roles. Previously, he held positions with Bank Boston, FleetBoston and Sovereign Bank.

Mike received his accounting and Master of Business Administration degrees from Providence College, and he remains active with the college as a member of the Providence College President's Council. Mike served as a board member of the Metro Boston Housing Partners and the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation. He and his wife are past chairs of the Rhode Island Governor's Ball and Children's Hospital Ball. Today, Mike serves as a board member of the Providence Chamber of Commerce, Rhode Island Bankers Association, Massachusetts Bankers Association, and the Massachusetts Business Roundtable.

Marco Antonio Achón

Marco Antonio Achón

Global Head of Corporate Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, and General Manager, Banco Santander S.A. New York Branch

Marco Antonio Achón is the Global Head of Corporate Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, and General Manager, Banco Santander S.A. New York Branch.

He joined Santander US in October 2017 after serving as Global Head of Global Debt Finance (GDF) in Madrid. Marco has held various roles with Santander Group since 2005, including Global Head of Loan Markets, European Head of Credit Markets, European Head of Corporate & Investment Banking and Head of Corporate & Investment Banking US.

Marco brings with him more than two decades of experience with large U.S. and international financial institutions. Prior to joining Santander, Marco served as Head of Debt Capital Markets and Loan Syndications for the Americas for BBVA Securities, Inc. in New York and Vice President of the Latin America Group at Argentaria.  

Marco has a BA in business administration and a BA in law from Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid, Spain. He also received an MBA from Columbia University in New York.

He is the President of the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce since Sept. 2020. He is a Board member of the Colin Powell School Board of Visitors. He holds Board memberships at Americas Society/Council of the Americas, Deming Center at the Columbia Business School, Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, YPO NYC Chapter, and is also a member of the Economic Club of New York.

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José M. Linares


Sr. Executive Vice-President of Banco Santander and Global Head of Santander Corporate & Investment Banking

José M. Linares is Senior Executive Vice-President of Banco Santander and global head of Santander Corporate & Investment Banking since June 2017.

He was appointed to the Santander Holdings, USA Inc. (SHUSA), the Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) New York Advisory Board and the Santander Capital Markets LLC Board in August 2022. He was also appointed to the SHUSA Risk Committee in September 2022 and to the Santander Bank, N.A. Board in December 2022.

He reports directly to the Group CEO and is also a member of the Group's Management Committee, Executive Risk Committee, Inclusive and Sustainable Banking Steering Committee and Santander's Asset Management Board.

Prior to joining Santander, José M. Linares spent more than 17 years at J.P. Morgan in a number of senior roles in New York, Hong Kong and London. His final position there, starting in 2011, was head of Global Corporate Banking in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He was also Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of J.P. Morgan Bank International, a member of the EMEA banking leadership team and Vice-Chairman of the Balance Sheet Committee.

Previously, José was Head of EMEA and Asia Pacific Equity & Derivatives Research, based in London, before that, he spent three years in Hong Kong as Head of APAC Equity and Derivatives Research. He started his professional career covering Latin American stocks at Morgan Stanley in New York.

José holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from Babson College, where he graduated summa cum laude, and an MBA from Columbia University. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.