BPI and La Caixa banker is ‘Personality of the Year’

Banker Fernando Ulrich has been elected Personality of the Year by the Portuguese Association of Investment, Pension and Property Funds (APFIPP).

The banker was given the award in recognition of his “long career dedicated to the development of Portugal’s financial market.”
Fernando Ulrich is board president of BPI bank and CEO of CaixaBank. On receiving the award he said: “It is an honour to receive this distinction from such a prestigious association as the APFIPP who members include the best professionals and company directors in Portugal.
“Those who know me will know that I have always actively been involved in the capital markets in the most enthusiastic way which is why this award is doubly important for me.
“My career path would not have existed without my first boss, Francisco Balsemão; ambassador Manuel Bello who took me to the OCED, ministers João Morais Leitão and João Salgueiro; Isidro Fainé, the president of the La Caixa Foundation, Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of CaixaBank and Artur Santos Silva who I have a debt of gratitude that I can never repay since 1983.”
João Pratas, president of the APFIPP outlined the banker’s career which was “dedicated to the development of Portugal’s financial market with a special emphasis on the role he played in developing Asset Management”.
Fernando Ulrich, 69, started his carer in journalism at the newspaper Expresso when it was founded and worked there for two years. He formed part of the OECD Portugal Delegation in Paris (1975-1979), worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1979-1980) and was Head the Minister of Finance’s Office (1981-1983).
He joined BPI at the invitation of Artur Santos Silva who is the Honorary President of BPI.
In April 2004, as vice-president of BPI, he became CEO which he held until April 2017 when he became president of the Board of Directors at the invitation of BPI’s major shareholder CaixaBank.
Since March 2021 he is also the CEO of CaixaBank in Spain. Between 2009 and 2013 he was general board president at the University of the Algarve.