Andrea Orcel is a name as well known as it is controversial in the world of finance. From Sapienza in Rome to Insead, his arrival in Goldman Sachs and Boston Consulting, then his transition to Merril Lynch which made him known in the City of London, up to the greatest Spanish financial “culebron” – a true soap-opera, like been and defined by the press – that is, his “divorce” with Banca Santander. The Italian banker was practically a stranger in Spain, until the group announced his appointment as CEO in 2018, then skipped, amidst tweets, rumors of lawsuits, secretly recorded conversations, denials and much disappointment.
But today the story seems to have a happy ending: the Italian banker who has spent his entire career abroad will occupy the most important office of the Unicredit tower that stands in the sky of Milan. After weeks of indiscretions, the appointment is given for certain, and now after years in the business and investment banks he will try his hand at a large commercial bank.
An important milestone, especially after the great disappointment experienced with the Spaniards, in fact. Orcel was the banker of the Botin family for many years. First alongside Emilio, founder and father-owner of Santander. Then, with his death in 2014, it was almost natural for his daughter Ana to choose Orcel, who was already external adviser of Santander and a member of the executive committee of UBS.
“The first reaction was surprise, sadness, huge disappointment […] This is a black swan, it has never happened before,” the banker confessed to the Financial Times when Santander blew his hiring after the signing and the announcement. . Ana Botin had to give in to the pressure of shareholders and customers, and justified the choice with the inability of the group to bear the “really significant cost” of “a single individual” albeit a talented one. According to The New York Times newspaper, there are those who think that the real motivation is that “the executives feared that the eight-figure check (about 50 million euros just as a” welcome “) would provoke a revolt among investors, especially between the individual shareholders of the bank “.
Orcel, in order to leave UBS’s rich paycheck, which he had driven for 10 years, had asked for a salary to match. The newspaper El Mundo reads that the banker sued Santander for 112 million euros: “The sum would compensate for the loss of earnings in Ubs, where he had a variable bonus of 52 million”.
However, like many others, she drew the positive side of that experience, also thanks to the advice of her little daughter Allegra. Orcel found time to read, to share more time with his family, to take his daughter to school and be home for dinner. He is married to Portuguese interior designer Clara Batalim, founder of the Orcel Kieffer Design store and E11even Interior Design Limited.
Defined as a tireless worker, very competitive, the banker loves his work and carries it out with passion. He demands the same commitment from others, and for this reason not everyone spends good words for him. But for Orcel, investment banking is a team sport and everyone has to give their best.
The passion for banks was born at the age of 18, when he was on vacation in the United States and was struck by a report on mergers and acquisitions. Born in Rome in 1963, he graduated in Economics and Commerce from La Sapienza University and studied at the Institut europeen d’administration des affaires in Paris. His father ran a finance leasing company and his mother worked for the United Nations.
He wears only tailored silk shirts and ties, speaks five languages ​​and is the director of some of the largest financial operations in the world. He has always been very close to Unicredit, having followed many dossiers, including the integration between Unicredito and Credito Italiano.
But “his career is not without flaws – added the Financial Times-. He advised on the disastrous € 72 billion deal that saw Dutch bank ABN Amro split in three and sold to Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Santander. The consequences of that deal ended up fueling the financial crisis of 2007-08 ”. But they were a great deal for Santander …

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