Wells
Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) announced today that Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf has informed the Company’s Board of
Directors that he is retiring from the Company and the Board, effective
immediately. The Board has elected Tim Sloan, the Company’s President
and Chief Operating Officer, to succeed him as CEO, and Stephen Sanger,
its Lead Director, to serve as the Board’s non-executive Chairman, and
independent director Elizabeth Duke to serve as Vice Chair. Sloan also
was elected to the Board.
Sloan’s appointment to CEO and election to the Board are effective
immediately. He will retain the title of President.
Sanger said, “John Stumpf has dedicated his professional life to
banking, successfully leading Wells Fargo through the financial crisis
and the largest merger in banking history, and helping to create one of
the strongest and most well-known financial services companies in the
world. However, he believes new leadership at this time is appropriate
to guide Wells Fargo through its current challenges and take the Company
forward. The Board of Directors has great confidence in Tim Sloan. He is
a proven leader who knows Wells Fargo’s operations deeply, holds the
respect of its stakeholders, and is ready to lead the Company into the
future.”
Stumpf, a 34-year veteran of the Company, joined Wells Fargo in 1982 as
part of the former Norwest Bank, becoming Wells Fargo’s CEO in June 2007
and its chairman in January 2010.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to have led Wells Fargo,” Stumpf
said. “I am also very optimistic about its future, because of our
talented and caring team members and the goodwill the stagecoach
continues to enjoy with tens of millions of customers. While I have been
deeply committed and focused on managing the Company through this
period, I have decided it is best for the Company that I step aside. I
know no better individual to lead this company forward than Tim Sloan.”
Sloan said, “It’s a great privilege to have the opportunity to lead one
of America’s most storied companies at a critical juncture in its
history. My immediate and highest priority is to restore trust in Wells
Fargo. It’s a tremendous responsibility, one which I look forward to
taking on, because of the incredible caliber of our people, and the
opportunity we have to impact the lives of our millions of customers
around the world. We will work tirelessly to build a stronger and better
Wells Fargo for generations to come.”
Sloan joined Wells Fargo 29 years ago, launching a career that would
include numerous leadership roles across the Company’s wholesale and
commercial banking operations, including as head of Commercial Banking,
Real Estate and Specialized Financial Services. He became president and
COO in November 2015, when he assumed leadership over the Company’s four
main business groups: Community Banking, Consumer Lending, Wealth and
Investment Management and Wholesale Banking. Previously, he headed the
Wholesale Banking group after serving as the Company’s Chief Financial
Officer and, prior to that, as the Company’s Chief Administrative
Officer.
Sanger has been a member of the Wells Fargo Board since 2003, serving as
its Lead Director since 2012. Sanger also chairs the Governance and
Nominating Committee and is a member of Human Resources Committee and
Risk Committee. He was CEO of General Mills, Inc., a leading packaged
food producer and distributor, from 1995 until 2007. He served as
chairman of General Mills from 1995 to 2008. He also serves on the board
of Pfizer Inc.
Duke has been a member of the Wells Fargo Board since 2015. She served
as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from
2008 to 2013, where she served as Chair of the Federal Reserve’s
Committee on Consumer and Community Affairs and as a member of its
Committee on Bank Supervision and Regulation, the Committee on Bank
Affairs, and the Committee on Board Affairs. She also previously held
senior management positions at banks including Wachovia and SouthTrust.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based
financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852
and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking,
insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance
through more than 8,600 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet
(wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries and
territories to support customers who conduct business in the global
economy. With approximately 268,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one
in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was
ranked No. 27 on Fortune’s 2016 rankings of America’s largest
corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’
financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo
perspectives are also available at Wells
Fargo Blogs and Wells
Fargo Stories.