Meet our Jury of Tara’s Circle: Ángel Rivera

After an extensive international career of more than 35 years in the financial sector, Ángel currently advises companies and manages his family’s family office. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of ESADE and serves on the Advisory Boards of SIDENOR and LUCASIÑAS.

Until 2024, he served as CEO of Banco Santander Spain, a member of its Board of Directors, and Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of GetNet Europe.

Previously, he held the position of General Director of Commercial Banking at Santander Spain and Director of Commercial Banking in Europe.

From March 2017 to October 2020, he worked in Mexico as Executive Vice President of the Bank, overseeing the Commercial and Retail Banking Division at Santander Mexico. Before that, Ángel was Senior Executive Vice President of the Global Commercial Banking Division, covering Europe, North America, and Latin America, and was a member of the Santander Group Management Committee.

During his tenure at Santander, he served as a board member of Banco Santander México, Santander Totta in Portugal, Banco Santander Uruguay, Banco Santander Perú, Banco Santander International (Miami), Santander Asset Management (SAM), Mouro Capital, and Santander Seguros España.

He joined Grupo Santander in April 2013 as General Director of the Group, responsible for Companies, SMEs, and Institutions within the Global Commercial Banking Division. For several years, he also served on the Advisory Board of Mastercard for Latin America, Iberia Cards, and Sistema 4B, a company specializing in ATMs in Spain.

Previously, he spent 24 years at Banco Popular, where he led the Office of the President, International Banking, Corporate Strategy and Development, Human Resources, and General Management of Operations (which included Technology, Organization, Operations, and Human Resources). In his final role, he served as General Director of Business at Banco Popular.

Ángel holds a Diploma in Business and Tourism Activities from the Official School of Tourism of Spain. He completed the Senior Management Program (PADE) at IESE (University of Navarra), the Senior Management Program in Digital Business at The Valley Digital Business School, and the Corporate Finance Development Program at IE Business School (Madrid). He has also completed several financial programs in the United States and Australia.

He has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the University College for Financial Studies (CUNEF), a member of the Board of Trustees of the Spanish Banking Foundation for Financial Studies, a professor in the Master’s Program in Portfolio and Financial Market Management at the School of Finance of La Coruña, and co-author of the books Expertos en Personas (Pearson Educación, 2004), En busca del compromiso (Almuzara, 2006), and 31 Claves para la Gestión de Riesgos en Entidades Bancarias (Colegio de Economistas de Madrid, 2015).

Ángel has also published various articles in Spanish economic journals and newspapers and is a frequent speaker at business schools and corporate events. He serves as an Equality Ambassador for Women in a Legal World (WLW).

Ángel has been honored with several Spanish civil distinctions, including the Grand Cross of the Fidelitas Cross, the Naval Merit Cross with White Distinction, and the Gold Medal of the Catholic University of Ávila.

At Tara for Women, we are honored to have his experience, leadership, and strategic vision as he evaluates projects that are driving technological change led by women.