With a paramount reputation across geographies, multi-award-winning head of legal Timo Matthias Spitzer works at Banco Santander’s Corporate and Investment Banking division for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Nordic countries, where he manages legal aspects of global transactions involving many of the world’s largest multinational companies. Recent deals include advising Santander as underwriter of a EUR 5.75 bn sustainability-linked fibre-optic facility for EQT-Deutsche Glasfaser Group and as joint bookrunner for the Porsche AG IPO, the largest in Europe with a market capitalisation of EUR 78 bn.

In addition to being a technical legal expert, Spitzer serves Santander’s business teams as a strategic partner and accountable leader, also acting as the face of the legal department at many international gatherings where he promotes the bank’s corporate values and acts as an ambassadorial networker. Spitzer recently gave the keynote speech on the evolving GC role before, during, and after the pandemic and spoke on a panel on sustainable finance at The Legal 500’s inaugural DACH Summit in Frankfurt, bringing together some of the very best in-house professionals from across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Amongst other high-profile speaking engagements, he shared his views about leadership with integrity and current ESG developments together with Professor Paul Watchman, special advisor to the United Nations on sustainability principles and Vanessa Havard-Williams, head of Linklaters ESG-Practice at The Legal 500’s Enterprise GC conference in London. Furthermore, Spitzer spoke at the COP – UN Climate Change Conference, where he explained ways in which legal departments could deliver climate action and promote understanding of net zero implications. Apart from being a highly sought-after keynote speaker, Spitzer is chairman of The Legal 500 General Counsel Powerlist Germany advisory board, a member of the General Counsel Leadership Circle and an advisory board member of diruj, the German institute for legal departments and corporate lawyers. 

Keeping ties with the literary world, he is an advisory board member of Deutscher AnwaltSpiegel, Business Law Magazine, Going Digital Magazine and Sustainable Value Magazine. Spitzer is the author of “The Importance of Human Leadership with Integrity in a Highly Regulated and Tech-Reliant Corporate Environment”, as published by Harvard Business Law Review and “ESG Colour-Washing: Combating Modern-Day Corporate Hypocrisy” edited by Cambridge University Press.

Spitzer much enjoys giving back to the community as an adjunct professor of International Economic Law and board member at the Institute for Law and Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt, as well as an occasional lecturer at Harvard and Fordham Law School. He was also invited by Professor Rhishikesh Dave as a commencement speaker at Marwadi University in India, where he gave words of encouragement to a new generation of professionals.

Spitzer is currently leading a first-class, four-jurisdiction qualified legal team at Santander, including Cristina Repáraz Grávalos from Spain and Esteban Hagedorn Belmar from Chile. In a nutshell, Spitzer is a very charismatic leader who has mastered the tension between being a true business partner and also a corporate guardian focusing on compliance with laws, ethics and values, all of which are essential to creating and maintaining a culture of integrity, diversity, and sustainability.