Santiago Bañales serves as the managing director of Iberdrola Innovation Middle East, a leading global centre for digital solutions development in sustainability. Since 2016, Mr Bañales has spearheaded AI-driven and other digital solutions based on cutting-edge research, focusing on innovations enabling the energy transition. 

With a career spanning nearly 30 years in the energy sector, he has held a variety of executive positions in areas such as research and development, digital product development, management consulting, mergers and acquisitions, general management, and board directorships. Before his current role, he served as the chief executive of Ormazabal Current.

Mr Bañales has been a prominent speaker at major global and regional events—including the Green Hydrogen Summit, Enlit Europe, Qatar Economic Forum, World Utilities Congress, World Investment Forum, Corporate Innovation Summit and Tarsheed Energy Efficiency Forum—where he has shared his insights on digital innovation, sustainability and the future of the energy sector. 

He is an alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned a master of science in technology and policy. Mr Bañales also holds a dual bachelor of science in energy engineering from École Centrale Paris and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and a certificate in corporate governance from the International Directors Programme at INSEAD.