José María Urquiza brings more than three decades in the banking industry to his role in the firm’s Financial Services Practice. Based in Mexico City, he has broad experience working with clients in México, Spain and the United States. Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, José María was CEO of Banco Wal-Mart México. In his role as CEO, he launched a new bank model in Mexico, focused on the Mexican middle class and unbanked customer segments. José María spent 25 years with Citibank, first serving in the New York office before moving to Madrid as corporate banking manager, overseeing public sector relationships and eventually leading the office’s corporate and investment banking division. He then moved to the institution’s operations in Mexico City, eventually managing Citibank’s global commercial banking operations for Latin America. He started his career as a market researcher for IBM Corporation in White Plains, New York. José María holds an M.B.A. from the Columbia Business School and a B.A. in economics and business from the Universidad de Deusto in Bilbao, Spain.