Santander Consumer USA Holdings named Scott Powell to succeed Jason Kulas as president and CEO, effective immediately.

Powell will continue to serve as CEO of Santander Holdings USA (SHUSA) and as Santander Group’s U.S. country head. After more than a decade of service to Santander Consumer, Kulas is stepping down to pursue other opportunities.

Powell was appointed CEO of SHUSA in 2015 and has served on Santander Consumer’s board of directors since 2016. He brings auto and risk management experience from more than three decades working in retail banking, risk management and consumer and auto lending.

Prior to joining Santander, Powell held a variety of senior roles at JPMorgan Chase, including head of Banking and Consumer Lending Operations, CEO of Consumer Banking and Retail Investments, head of Retail Lending, head of Chase Auto Finance and chief risk officer, Consumer. He also spent 14 years at Citigroup.

“Scott’s depth of experience makes him the right person to continue SC’s evolution and to sustain its long-term performance,” said SC Chairman Bill Rainer. “Scott’s role as both SHUSA CEO and SC CEO will position SC to grow, to strengthen its commitment to customers and to progress toward operating at major financial institution standards.

“Scott has led significant changes across Santander’s U.S. business, including improving the financial performance of Santander Bank, leading SHUSA’s efforts to have its capital plan approved after passing the Federal Reserve’s capital stress test and overseeing the work that led to the termination last week of SHUSA’s 2014 Written Agreement with the Federal Reserve. As we welcome Scott to his new role, the SC Board also thanks Jason Kulas for his service to SC, and wishes him well.”