Santander Bank has appointed former Webster Bank COO Jerry Plush chief financial officer of Santander Holdings USA Inc., the bank’s U.S. holding company.

Plush was most recently president and chief operating officer of Webster Bank, where he had also served as CFO and chief risk officer. Plush has been active in community organizations, serving on the board of trustees of the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network and as chairman of Junior Achievement of Southwest New England.

Santander has also hired Maria Tedesco as managing director of retail banking. Tedesco served in a variety of positions at Providence-based Citizens Bank, most recently as group executive vice president and head of retail banking. She has more than 25 years of experience in retail and business banking in the U.S. northeast. 

Both Plush and Tedesco will be based in Boston and report to Roman Blanco, president and CEO of Santander U.S. Plush is a member of the Santander Holdings USA management committee and Tedesco a member of the Santander Bank management committee.

"Jerry and Maria bring deep local knowledge and experience that will complement our global reach and capabilities. Having Jerry and Maria on board makes us a stronger competitor across our current footprint. I look forward to their contributions to developing Santander’s U.S. franchise," Blanco said in a statement.