Ana Patricia Botin has the power…
Forbes magazine has unveiled its list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, with the 62-year-old Spanish banking executive coming in at No. 15.
Botin became the executive chairman of Santander in 2014, after the sudden death of her father, Emilio.
She pulled off a coup in 2017 when Banco Santander acquired failing Banco Popular (BP) for 1 euro to become Spain’s largest bank.
In the face of political unrest, she has championed fintech and focused on entrepreneurs, backing small enterprise and women-owned businesses.
She launched Santander X to support university entrepreneurship and helped create the country’s first multi-sector blockchain-based platform.
Paula Santilli comes in at No. 71 on the list…
The Mexican businesswoman has been the CEO of PepsiCo Latin America since May 2019. She oversees more than $7 billion in annual net revenue.
She leads the company’s food and beverage businesses for Mexico, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean–a business segment that boasts more 70,000 direct jobs in 34 markets.
In March 2022, Pepsico named Santilli to its board of directors.
At No. 94 on the list, Xiomara Castro…
The 63-year-old Honduran politician was sworn in as Honduras’ president in January 2022, becoming the first woman to hold the position.
She was elected to the role with 1.7 million votes, the largest number of votes in Honduras’ history.
She was previously the country’s first lady: her husband, Manuel Zelaya, was president from 2006 until a coup d’etat ended his term in 2009.
Castro campaigned for the presidency on a platform that included protecting and expanding women’s rights (Honduras has high rates of femicide and restrictive abortion policies).
Here’s a list of the Latinas on the list:
No. 15: Ana Patricia Botin, Spain, Finance
No. 71: Paula Santilli, Mexico, Business
No. 94: Xiomara Castro, Honduras, Politics & Policy
