1.
Corporate Communications
Ciudad Grupo Santander, edificio Arrecife, pl. 2
28660 Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) Tel.: +34 91 2895211
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www.santander.com - Twitter: @bancosantander
Álvaro Antonio Cardoso de Souza to join
Banco Santander’s board of directors
Madrid, 14 February 2018 - PRESS RELEASE
The board of directors of Banco Santander, in a meeting held yesterday in San Francisco (USA), called
this year’s Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting, which is expected to take place on second call on March
23rd. The agenda for the shareholders’ meeting includes the appointment of Álvaro Antonio Cardoso
de Souza as an independent member of the board. He is currently non-executive chairman of the board
of Santander Brasil. Shareholders will also vote on the proposal to ratify the nomination of Ramiro Mato
as an independent member of the board, as well as the re-election of five other board members: Carlos
Fernández González, Ignacio Benjumea Cabeza de Vaca, Guillermo de la Dehesa, Sol Daurella and
Homaira Akbari.
With the appointment of Mr. Cardoso de Souza and the ratification of Mr. Mato, Santander’s board of
directors will again be made up of 15 members of which a majority (eight) are independent.
The board of Santander is diverse in gender (a third are women), national origin (Spanish, British,
American, Mexican and Portuguese) and has broad sector representation (finance, distribution,
technology, infrastructure and academia)
Álvaro Antonio Cardoso de Souza (1948), born in Portugal, has a degree in Economics and Business
Administration by Universidad Pontificia Católica of São Paulo. He attended courses in American
universities, such as Pittsburgh or The Wharton Business School of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Cardoso de Sousa is also an officer of ADS-Gestão, Consultoria e Investimentos, chairman of the
board of directors of the Brazilian fund for biodiversity (FUNBIO) and member of the boards of directors
of the following organizations: WWF International, WWF-Brasil, Duratex S.A, AmBev and Grupo Libra.
The appointment of Mr. Cardoso de Souza will be subject to the relevant regulatory approvals.