The old Banco Santander did not always have a chief executive to
act as second in command to its powerful chairman Emilio Botín.
Botín was hands-on and other senior executives were assigned tasks
when necessary. But as Santander grew in the 1990s, Botín saw the
need to bring in new talent.
He was particularly keen to have Ángel Corcóstegui, chief executive
of Banco Central Hispano, work at Santander. One story has it that
he asked him to join three years ago and Corcóstegui replied: "OK
but can I bring my team?" "Certainly," replied Botín, "who does it
consist of?" "The entire bank," said Corcóstegui in declining the
offer. The result, say humorists, was that Botín had to buy the
whole of BCH in order to get Corcóstegui.
It's an appealing image: the mild Cocóstegui astonishing the
powerful and intimidating Botín with a softly-spoken
rejoinder.Corcóstegui says the story is an exaggeration. ...
