Focus on: My career

With over twenty years of relevant cross-border experience focusing on the European and Latin American markets, Timo Matthias Spitzer is currently the Head of Legal Corporate & Investment Banking for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Nordic Countries. Located in Frankfurt am Main, Spitzer manages a team covering legal aspects of global wholesale corporate transactions.

Spitzer’s journey at Santander commenced in 2015, following various roles at major international law firms, including Linklaters Lefosse in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Since then, he has contributed to leading Santander’s Frankfurt branch towards unprecedented commercial growth in parallel with, inter alia, a doubling of the team-size.

With respect to Latin America, Spitzer provided legal assistance to, inter alia, the bank’s TMT, Energy, Infrastructure, and Consumer Retail Healthcare teams. Relevant Santander transactions include acting for Sociedad Transmisora Metropolitana SpA (Grupo Saesa) and Mareco Holdings Corp on the acquisition of a 99.42% stake in Enel Transmisión Chile through a Mandatory Public Tender Offer (volume US$1.4bn) and as financial advisor to CKD Infraestructura México of equity stakes in all three Coconal’s toll road concessions (volume MX$ 3.5bn).

Spitzer played a key role in various SAN transformational projects involving not only legal and compliance matters but also extending to capital markets and M&A related work in addition to his portfolio of covering syndicated lending, export, trade and supply chain finance as well as cash management transactions.

A well-versed networker, Spitzer has gained the trust of internal and external stakeholders to contribute to achieving a fusion of high performance, high integrity and sound risk management. He seamlessly bridges gaps between headquarters, branches, and affiliates, and is the primary contact for law firms used by the bank in the above-mentioned regions.

In 2023, Spitzer continued to represent Santander at international conferences, e.g., by the Financial Times and The Economist. He also spoke for international delegates from more than 20 financial institutions at the Inter-Alpha-Banking School held at Commerzbank in summer 2023 and contributed to the development of future managers at Santander by giving virtual talks on leadership and what it means to create a high-performance culture in the SAN KATA program.

Since 2018, he is also an adjunct professor for International Trade & Export Finance / International Economic Law at the Frankfurt Institute for Law and Finance (ILF), which was just recognised as a Global Top 10 Master program on banking & securities law for the 6th time in a row by LL.M. Guide, ranking, inter alia, amongst schools like Harvard Law School and Oxford.

Spitzer also serves as an advisory board member at, inter alia, Deutscher AnwaltSpiegel, Business Law Magazine and the German Institution for Legal Departments and In-house lawyers (diruj).

Beyond his legal achievements, Spitzer champions diversity, leading an all-female legal team at Banco Santander, comprising in 2023 of, e.g., Carla Meza Caballero from Peru, Cristina Reparaz Gravalos from Spain and Gülce Küçükdağ from Turkey. His commitment to fostering an inclusive environment demonstrates his practical leadership and dedication to excellence.

In summary, Timo Matthias Spitzer embodies the practical attributes of a highly effective general counsel. His journey represents a resounding testament to excellence, bridging the continents of Europe and Latin America. His profound impact on Banco Santander, the legal profession, and the Europe-LATAM connection is nothing short of extraordinary.