Salles has been unofficially involved with Unibanco since birth, since the bank was headed for several decades by his father, the late Walter Moreira Salles. Pedro joined Unibanco in 1989 and became chairman in 1997, after serving as vice chairman for almost six years. In April 2004, Salles was elected CEO. As of 2016, he is chairman of Itaú Unibanco Holding.