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As the Chief Compliance Officer of Santander Bank, N.A. ("SBNA"), Dennis Hermonstyne '94 is responsible for leading the management of the Bank Compliance program and enhancing and communicating the state of Bank Compliance and ensuring the Bank's compliance with federal banking laws and regulations. He is responsible for conducting periodic reviews of Santander's existing policies and procedures to identify potential areas of compliance vulnerability and risk of illegal, unethical or improper conduct. Dennis is accountable for promoting a culture of compliance within Santander and each of its subsidiary businesses as well as implementing and operationalizing the strategic compliance program across all businesses and geographies. Additionally, he is responsible for instituting and maintaining an effective compliance communication program for the firm, including the training of existing and new Santander employees concerning all respective compliance policies.

Dennis has more than 17 years of legal and compliance experience. Prior to joining SBNA in 2017, he was the Deputy Chief Compliance Officer of E*TRADE Bank. There he assisted with the management of the Bank Compliance program by enhancing and communicating the state of Bank Compliance and ensuring the Bank's compliance with federal banking laws and regulations. Additionally, Dennis was responsible for overseeing the Bank Compliance Advisory Team that included Deposit, Lending, Regulatory Change Management, Risk Assessment and Consumer complaint Compliance staff and supporting the Community Investment unit and Fair Lending compliance teams.

Dennis' responsibilities also included serving as the Board appointed Regulation O Officer, assisting the Senior Vice President ("SVP") Enterprise Wide Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President ("VP") Bank Chief Compliance Officer in devising and executing a detailed full-time compliance monitoring and testing plan across a broad spectrum of risks and assisting the SVP Enterprise Wide Chief Compliance Officer in preparing Board and Committee Reports to report on compliance risk, trends, key indicators and major initiatives.

Prior to joining E*TRADE in 2012, Dennis was the Vice President, Director of Compliance for Access National Corporation, the Financial Holding Company for a commercially oriented National bank. There, he served as Director of Compliance for the Corporation and formulated and maintained a consumer compliance program designed to ensure that the Bank and its Mortgage division, Access National Mortgage (ANM) achieved optimum compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, and consistent adherence to regulatory reporting requirements. Before that, he served as a staff attorney in the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Dennis earned his undergraduate degree in Finance from Georgetown University where he was a four-year Varsity Letterman and two-time First Team All MAAC Defensive Back on the Division I-AA Football Team. He earned his J.D. from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law where he was a member of the CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Policy. Dennis is a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager ("CRCM"). He is the Co-National Network Leader of the Santander Black Employee Network.

Dennis resides in West Newton, MA with his wife, Porsha, where they are devoted parents to their beautiful daughter, Makayla.

After graduating from Prep in 1994, I earned my undergraduate degree in Finance from Georgetown University where I was a four-year Varsity Letterman and two-time First Team All MAAC Defensive Back on the Division I-AA Football Team and my J.D. from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law where I was a member of the CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Policy. Over the last 20 years, I have had the opportunity to work for some great organizations including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, E*TRADE Financial and my current employer Santander Bank. For the most part I continued to reside in the Washington, D.C. area throughout most of my time post college and law school. I was blessed to meet my future wife, Porsha, in the DC area and got married eight years ago where my Best Man, Ryan Breitenbach, and two of my groomsmen (Mike Noonan and Brian Sullivan) were all Prep 94 grads. Porsha and I now have a five-year-old daughter, Makayla, and live in West Newton, MA.

How did Prep prepare you for your position as the Chief Compliance Officer for Santander Bank, N.A.?

The 18-year-old version of myself did not know what Compliance was and definitely did not envision being a Chief Compliance Officer as a career. However, growing up, I always enjoyed participating in team sports and working with my teammates to maximize our abilities to achieve success. Helping to provide practical and sustainable solutions to compliance challenges for complex financial organizations enables me to continue to channel my passion for helping my work teammates be their best. I joined Santander Bank 4 years ago and moved my family to Boston. My family has greatly enjoyed getting to learn a new city and taking advantage of the opportunities to ski in the Northeast. In my time at Santander, I have been fortunate to work with smart, open minded and dedicated teammates that have enabled our Compliance organization to mature and sustain its improvement.

My experiences at Prep developing my Mind, Body and Spirit, serve me well every day in how I lead my team, weather adversity and build to achieve success. Additionally, the teachings of being a man for others has helped me to endeavor to leave the organizations and communities where I live and work in a better place. I had the great opportunity to be the founding National Network Leader for Santander's first Black Employee Network and it is a role I believe is of equal importance and value. Championing diversity in the workspace in order to break down social stigmas and reduce unconscious bias can greatly assist social progress. A diversity of people and thoughts makes for a stronger and more profitable organization I am attempting to drive positive change through youth engagement, mentoring and championing diversity at Santander and the communities we serve.

I had a great four years at Prep filled with highs and lows that helped shape me into the man I am today. However, one of my lasting memories was a low point that helped to shape my life for the better. In a football scrimmage against Springbrook before my Junior Year, I tore most of the major ligaments in my knee, and I was devastated as I knew it could be the end of my athletic career. Prior to that injury most of my personal and mental energy were only focused on academics and being the best athlete possible. However, after receiving the bad news from my orthopedist, I remember my dad taking me by Prep so I could tell Mr. Fegan. He said "Den-Den, this is not the end of your story, but a new beginning and you will overcome this adversity and be all the better for it." Mr. Fegan's words held true and I was blessed to serve as a football captain my senior year and play basketball but more importantly, I gained a new outlook on life, opened myself to my classmates and formed long-lasting friendships and bonds that still hold true today.

What impact did Prep have on you?

The Jesuit ideals of educating the full scope of a person via their Mind, Body and Spirit were critical to my personal development and have served me well throughout my life. Prep along with my parents helped to instill in me the confidence to always be true to myself and never to be afraid to lead. At Prep, I was able to witness teachers and coaches with a passion for helping people maximize their potential and was inspired to find my opportunities in life to do the same.

What advice would you have for current students?

• Take advantage of all that Prep offers and open yourself while on campus to new ideas and divergent schools of thought. Be willing to accept difficult jobs or challenging tasks. Do not be afraid to fail but be prepared to learn from your triumphs, mistakes and setbacks.
• Remain true to yourself and work to rise above the negativity of others. It may not be easy or always work, but you will always have a better chance at succeeding if you do not sacrifice your core values.
• Seek out joy in what you do as opposed to focusing solely on happiness. Joy is a feeling that comes from within and can be driven by a job well done whereas happiness can be results oriented such as winning or losing. This can allow you to have more balance in life and not be overly subjected to highs and lows.