Ana Botín

Ana Botín returns to the top spot this year on the solid performance of the global bank—No. 85 on the Fortune Global 500—with revenues topping $90 billion in 2018. That growth was driven largely by the bank’s Latin American markets (Brazil and Mexico, particularly) and supported by cost-cutting in Europe. Meanwhile, Botín, who took control five years ago after the sudden death of her father, has made steady progress on her promises to strengthen Santander’s capital, cultivate customer loyalty (up more than 40% since 2015 by internal measures), and digitize the bank’s platforms (used by 32 million customers and counting). Botín didn’t have a perfect year though, making a high-profile blunder—hiring a new CEO and then rescinding the offer—that resulted in a $100 million lawsuit.