How Ana Botin of Santander became one of the most powerful women in Europe

Good morning! Marine Le Pen barred from running for office, Columbia University has a new president (again), and we have the latest from one of the most powerful women in Europe.

- At the top. Last year, Ana Botín ranked No. 15 on Fortune's annual ranking of the world's Most Powerful Women in Business. The Banco Santander executive chair is the fourth member of her family to lead the legacy Spanish bank and has held her position for a decade. She remains one of the most influential women in Europe—and Santander has been on an upswing, ranked No. 10 on the Fortune 500 Europe. My colleague Prarthana Prakash has a new interview with Botín in the most recent magazine issue of Fortune.

Botín chats with Prarthana about her daily routine, business trends, and the challenges facing European business. European business leaders have a real "productivity gap" with the U.S., Botín acknowledges. "We have to be honest with society about the scale of the challenge and the urgency of the need for change," she says. "We must do much more to embrace innovation and enterprise, creating a business environment and culture that rewards smart risk-taking." She advocates for reducing "regulatory and supervisory complexity" and creating a new "social compact" between business and society.

Santander has more than 170 million customers around the world and earned €12.6 billion in profits last year. After a challenging period, higher interest rates, a focus on digital banking, and strong investment banking performance in the U.S. have started to pay off. Those are some striking achievements for one of the few women to lead a major global bank.

Read the full interview here.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com