Manolo Sánchez is currently a director at Fannie Mae (FNM), OnDeck Capital (ONDK), and BanCoppel (Mexico’s largest in-store bank) after having served as chairman & CEO of BBVA Compass for 10 years. At Rice University’s Jones School of Business, he teaches disruption in financial services with a focus on crypto currencies and blockchain. Sánchez is an advisor to several fintech and blockchain start ups.

His banking career at BBVA, spanned over 27 years, with positions in the U.S., Mexico, France, and Spain, and executive roles in risk management, corporate, and investment banking. During his tenure at BBVA Compass, Manolo spearheaded the development of award wining online and mobile apps, as well as a new core banking system, which earned the recognition of Model Bank of the Year by Celent in 2013.  In the midst of the financial crisis, Sánchez and his team mobilized their volunteers to become a model of community involvement, and landed the #1 spot in American Banker’s Reputation Survey in 2011.

Sánchez has served as a director of the American Bankers Association, the Institute of International Bankers, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Financial Services Roundtable and BITS (the technology policy division of FSR). He is currently a trustee at the Center for Houston’s Future.

Sánchez has volunteered extensively in the communities where he has worked, with a focus on education, health, and the arts. In addition to his position on the Brighter Bites board, he is emeritus director and past chair of the Post Oak Montessori School board, as well as a trustee of Good Reason Houston, KIPP Houston, Texas Children’s Hospital, the Houston Grand Opera, and the Houston Symphony. He is a past trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and currently volunteers in the Latin American Art committee.

A graduate of Yale University, Sánchez earned master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

Sánchez has been recognized with Spain’s Order of Civil Merit, the 2017 Arrival Award for immigrant achievement from the University of Houston, the 2015 Hispanic Executive of the Year by the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Laredo Gateway Rotary Club’s 2014 Paul Harris Fellow award.

A native of Murcia, Spain, Sánchez first came to the U.S. as high school exchange student. In addition to English and Spanish, he speaks French, German and Arabic. A naturalized U.S. citizen, he lives in Houston with his wife and three children.