Santander Bank, the US arm of Spain-based Banco Santander, is stepping up its digital overhaul with its recent hiring of Bradley Leimer as its new North American head of innovation.

Leimer will head the banks’ digital future in the U.S.

The former Sovereign Bank is a Top 20 bank worldwide. The US operations are headquartered in Boston.

Leimer, who was on Bank Innovation’s annual list of 30 Innovators to Watch, is well-known in the fintech space and was previously at Mechanics Bank. According to his LinkedIn profile, Leimer will be focusing on analyzing technology trends that impact global banks like Santander and foster relations with a number of partners, including startups, venture capitalists, and others. He’ll be reporting to the US head of channels, Maneul Baldasano, but also will be working with the global retail group.

Leimer’s a big get for Santander, a bank that is putting a massive effort into revamping their digital solutions. Multiple sources have told Bank Innovation that “other big banks” approached Leimer, as well.

Leimer told Bank Innovation that he will be splitting his time between Boston and San Francisco, where he currently lives, which should be an advantage for Santander to recruit talent and develop partnerships with tech companies in Silicon Valley.

Leimer will also work with Santander’s global retail group.

“Innovation’s a broad spectrum,” Leimer said. “I’m excited to look for opportunities for deployment and I’ll be focused on the US — including checking out startups and technology trends.”

He highlighted his possible role in Santander’s new $100 million fund focused on fintech investments in the UK.

Santander has one of the largest branch networks in the world and many — including Moven CEO Brett King — see this as a blessing more than a curse.

“It’s all part of the digital revolution … how do you connect branch activity to digital innovation?” Leimer said. “[Branches] are still important — there are ways to connect customers digital to their physical footprint. Everyone still needs financial advice, and branches are a great place for that.”

Leimer’s most excited about Santander’s scale and commitment to deploying innovative financial services.

“Santander is committed to innovation and progression of digital banking and that’s exciting to me, to actually have such a large influence,” he said.

Leimer brings his extensive network and experience in digital innovation to Santander. “I’ve advised six startups and have been a part of building out topical agenda in Net.Finance and Nextbank, and hope to continue to do so. It’s been eye-opening to work with startups and see their development process — it was eye-opening and it’ll be fun to bring that mindset into a big bank.”

Follow him on Twitter at @leimer.