Jorge Moran has been named chief executive of Sovereign Bank and head of Spanish parent company Banco Santander’s businesses in the U.S.

Moran is replacing Gabriel Jaramillo, who will be joining the United Nations Office of the Special Envoy for Malaria, according to a statement.

During his 15 years with Santander, Jaramillo served as CEO in Brazil and later in the U.S. He will continue as non-executive chairman of the board of directors of Sovereign and Santander Holdings USA Inc., the company said.

Moran is currently a senior executive vice president of Banco Santander, head of its global insurance division and a member of the group’s management committee. He joined the Santander Group in 2002 as head of asset management. During 2005 and 2006, he was chief operating officer of Abbey, Santander’s business in the U.K., and served as a member of its board of directors from 2005 until 2008.

Before joining Santander, Moran was chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley for Spain and Portugal and a partner of AB Asesores, a brokerage and asset management company.

The changes reflect the completion of the first phase of integration of Sovereign into Grupo Santander and the goal of further strengthening Santander’s U.S. businesses, according to a statement.