BBVA Renews Its Leadership Team to Drive Transformation in This New Era
BBVA has approved a renewal of its leadership team to drive transformation in an environment shaped by the profound impact that artificial intelligence will have on the business, on the way we work and, especially, on the experience the bank provides to customers. All the newly appointed executives come from within the Group, forming a renewed leadership team that combines extensive experience in transformation, innovation and customer focus. The changes also simplify the organization to foster greater integration across related functions.
“Everyone at BBVA has a role to play in shaping our transformation. In a context of accelerating change, this renewed leadership puts us in the best position to drive a new cycle of growth and build on our track record of success. This organization strengthens our ability to help our customers go further, create more opportunities for our employees, deliver sustainable growth for our shareholders and contribute to the progress of society,” stated Carlos Torres Vila, Chair of BBVA.
The renewal of the leadership team and the adaptation of the organization are reflected in the following appointments and organizational changes:
- Mexico: José Luis Elechiguerra, currently Head of Global Risk Management, will succeed Eduardo Osuna as BBVA's Country Manager in Mexico. Osuna will become Chairman of the Board of Directors of BBVA Mexico¹.
- Global Risk Management (GRM): Pablo Pastor, currently Head of Risk for South America and Türkiye, will succeed José Luis Elechiguerra as Head of GRM. In addition, the Compliance and Non-Financial Risks functions, previously part of the Regulation & Internal Control area, which will be discontinued, will be integrated into GRM under the leadership of Rocío Pérez as Global Head of Compliance & Internal Control. This creates an integrated risk function covering all risks, while simplifying first-line reporting².
- Institutional Engagement: Mario Pardo, currently Country Manager of BBVA in Colombia, will lead this new global area, which focuses on managing BBVA’s relationship with the institutional, regulatory, and public policy environment, as well as the Group's institutional representation. To this end, it will bring together the Regulation and Supervisory Relations functions - both previously part of Regulation & Internal Control-, along with Public Affairs and BBVA Research.
- Colombia: Gloria Couceiro, currently Global Head of Financial Planning and Cost & Investment Management, will succeed Mario Pardo as Country Manager of BBVA in Colombia.
- The new structure streamlines the monitoring model for South American countries. Argentina, where Jorge Bledel will continue as Country Manager; Colombia, with Gloria Couceiro; and Peru, where Fernando Eguiluz will remain in his role, will now report directly to the Chief Executive Officer. The remaining South American countries will report to either Commercial Client Solutions or Retail Client Solutions³. With these changes, the Country Monitoring area will be discontinued.
- Finance: Gonzalo Rodríguez, until now Head of Retail Banking at BBVA in Spain, will become the Group’s new Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Luisa Gómez Bravo.
- Talent & Culture: Victoria del Castillo, currently Head of Strategy & M&A, will succeed Paul Tobin as Global Head of Talent & Culture.
- Strategy & M&A: Roberto Albaladejo, currently Head of Global Clients Coverage and Sustainability & CIB Strategy, will succeed Victoria del Castillo as Global Head of Strategy & M&A.
- Legal: Jacobo de Nicolás, currently Head of Legal Services for BBVA in Mexico, will succeed María Jesús Arribas as Global Head of Legal.
- General Secretariat: Rosario Mirat, currently Head of the Chair’s Office, will become General Secretary of BBVA’s Board of Directors, succeeding Domingo Armengol. Marian Navarro will succeed Rosario Mirat as Head of the Chair’s Office.
“The transformation our industry is undergoing requires us to evolve continuously. We have an exceptional team, with a very powerful combination of experience, knowledge of our markets, and execution capabilities. These changes will enable us to make decisive progress on our strategic priorities in an environment shaped by the profound impact of artificial intelligence, while always keeping the customer at the center,” said Onur Genç, CEO of BBVA.
Carlos Torres Vila and Onur Genç, on behalf of the entire BBVA team, expressed their deepest appreciation and gratitude to Domingo Armengol, María Jesús Arribas, Juan Asúa, Ana Fernández Manrique, Luisa Gómez Bravo, Eduardo Osuna, Jorge Sáenz-Azcúnaga and Paul Tobin, who are stepping down from their executive roles at BBVA: “Their leadership, commitment and generosity have been pivotal in building the bank we are today. Each of them has left a lasting mark on BBVA, on their teams and on the people they have worked with. We are extremely grateful for their many years of dedication, their decisive contribution to the bank's transformation, and the human quality with which they have always carried out their responsibilities.”
They are expected to remain linked to BBVA, contributing their knowledge and experience to initiatives of interest to the Group and, in some cases, serving on the boards of directors of different subsidiaries, in accordance with the applicable appointment processes.
As a general rule, the changes will take effect on September 1. Once the appointments have been formalized, subject to the applicable regulatory procedures, the organization will be as follows:
Biographies
Roberto Albaladejo has been Head of Global Clients Coverage and CIB and Sustainability Strategy since 2025. He joined BBVA in 2008 as a member of the Strategy and M&A team, where he held several positions before being appointed Managing Director. From 2018 to 2022, he served as Chief of Staff to the Chair, before leading the creation of BBVA Spark, the business unit focused on technology companies and venture capital funds. Prior to joining BBVA, he worked at Garrigues and Deloitte.
Jorge Bledel has served as BBVA’s Country Manager in Argentina since 2024. He has extensive experience at BBVA Argentina, where he held various leadership positions since joining the Group in 2004, in the areas of private banking and asset management, investment products and insurance, innovation, transformation and digital banking. He also served as Head of Business Development in Argentina from 2016 to 2019 and, subsequently, for South America and Openpay.
Victoria del Castillo has served as Global Head of Strategy & M&A since 2018, where she has led two strategic cycles and key transactions, including the sale of BBVA USA, the takeover bid for Garanti BBVA, investments in neobanks and the tender offer process for Banco Sabadell. She has also helped place innovation and artificial intelligence at the heart of the Group’s strategy, including the alliance with OpenAI. She joined BBVA in 2001 and has developed her career across Global Markets, Finance and Strategy & M&A. Before joining BBVA, she worked at Oracle and Arthur Andersen, now Deloitte.
Gloria Couceiro has been BBVA's Global Head of Financial Planning and Cost & Investment Management since 2021. She joined the Group in 1999 as an equity analyst. Subsequently, she held a range of senior finance roles, including responsibilities in strategy, budgetary control and Investor Relations. From 2016 to 2021, she served as the Group's Global Head of Shareholder and Investor Relations. She began her career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen (now Deloitte).
Fernando Eguiluz has served as BBVA’s Country Manager in Peru since 2019. He has more than 25 years of experience in the financial sector. He began his career at BBVA in 1997. Throughout his career within the Group, he has held various senior management positions at BBVA Mexico, where he served, among other roles, as Head of Business Development for Corporate and Government Banking, Head of Business Development and Payment Systems, Head of Insurance, and Head of Talent & Culture.
José Luis Elechiguerra has served as Head of Global Risk Management at BBVA since 2024. He joined the BBVA Group in 2008, working in BBVA Mexico’s mortgage business. After holding a number of senior positions at the Mexican subsidiary, in 2015 he became BBVA’s Global Head of Organization and Business Process Engineering. He subsequently served as Global Head of Data Governance and Head of Client Solutions at BBVA’s US subsidiary, before being appointed Global Head of Engineering in 2020. Prior to joining the BBVA Group, he worked at Procter & Gamble and McKinsey.
Rosario Mirat has been Head of the Chair & CEO Office, Global Economics & Public Affairs since 2022. She joined the bank in 2003 as a lawyer of Institutional Legal Affairs, within the General Secretariat area. Between 2007 and 2010, she developed her career at Bankinter as Head of Corporate Governance and Regulatory Compliance. In 2010, she returned to BBVA’s General Secretariat area as Head of Institutional Legal Affairs, where she served as Deputy Secretary to the Board of Directors from 2016 to 2022. Before joining BBVA, she worked as a lawyer at Uría Menéndez.
Jacobo de Nicolás has been Head of Legal in BBVA Mexico since 2023. He joined BBVA in 2004 as a lawyer in Investment Banking Legal Services and subsequently held several senior positions, including Head of Financial and Regulatory Legal Services, and Head of Corporate Legal Services. Before joining BBVA, he worked as a lawyer at Uría Menéndez.
Mario Pardo has been Country Manager of BBVA in Colombia since 2020. He joined the Group in October 2008 in the Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) area, where he became Global Head of Corporate Finance. During this period, he also led the Strategy & Transformation area for CIB, overseeing the digitalization of all wholesale banking solutions, as well as the role of Global Head of Enterprise Client Solutions. Prior to joining BBVA, Pardo worked at Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs.
Pablo Pastor has been Head of Risk for South America and Türkiye since 2021. He has built an extensive career within the BBVA Group, where, since joining the bank in 1998, he has held various senior leadership positions across the risk function, including, among others, serving as Head of Risk at BBVA in Mexico and Head of Risk for Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). Prior to joining BBVA, he began his professional career at Banesto.
Rocío Pérez has been Global Head of Compliance at BBVA since 2020. She joined the Group in 1993 and held different responsibilities across risk management and business in Spain. She also served as Head of Retail Risks at BBVA in Spain and, subsequently, as Head of Global Risk Officer at BBVA in Colombia and Head of Global Risk Management for South America.
Gonzalo Rodríguez has been Head of Retail Banking at BBVA in Spain since 2024. He has built an extensive career within the bank since joining in 2013, holding a number of senior positions focused on transformation and the retail banking business in Spain. He served as Head of Digital Solutions and Processes, Head of Digital Transformation Spain, Head of Retail Solutions, and Head of Business Development Spain. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mitchell Madison Group and McKinsey.