BBC survey ranks Santander’s Ana Botín as the third most powerful woman in Britain

Ana Botín has been ranked as Britain's third most influential woman

The CEO of the UK arm of Spanish bank Santander, Ana Botín, has been ranked as the third most powerful woman in Britain in a BBC survey.

The list, topped by the Queen with Home Secretary Theresa May in second, was compiled by a panel of media judges who ranked the UK’s 100 most influential females for a show on the popular BBC Radio 4.

Botín, 52, took up the reins of Santander UK in 2010, helping to grow the bank’s profile in Britain after its takeover of Abbey National in 2008. While Botín’s presence on the list may surprise the average BBC listener – she beats Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling, who’s only seventh, for example – the banker herself is no stranger to such accolades.

As the daughter of Spanish billionaire Emilio Botín, Ana has been primed for success from an early age, and in 2005 was already ranked as the 99^th most influential woman in the world by Forbes magazine.

After a successful career working for JP Morgan in the USA, Botín spent many years back in Spain helping Santander to become the banking behemoth that we all know today.

“Most women on our list were judged to have power because they had reached a place where they have control – of policy, of direction, of influence, of staff,” said Eve Pollard, one of the judges on the BBC panel.

“The panel, a democratic group, also felt that we should include some women who have what we describe as soft power – not hire and fire or innovative financial decisions but the ability to transform the way we think about ourselves.

“Inevitably, not everyone will agree with the 100 we have chosen. There are some omissions. For example, we had long debates about the Duchess of Cambridge. Is she influential? Hugely. Is she powerful? Not yet.

“What this list does is shine a light on those sectors where too few women are getting to the top, like politics, FTSE companies, the military and journalism.

“Our legacy, we hope, is that this list might change that.”

For now, though, Botín represents a rare measure of Spanish international success and influence, and for that, she should be applauded.