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Wells Fargo Unveils Commercial Banking Leadership in the Northeast

08/20/2019
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Bank strengthens regional management team; introduces key executives in Boston

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) today announced its Commercial Banking leadership team for the Northeast, which includes leaders serving businesses in New England, Western New York, and Eastern Canada. The new leadership team stems from the bank’s recently announced structure for its Commercial Banking business.

Under its new integrated business model, Wells Fargo is strengthening and simplifying how it serves the needs of local commercial customers. With its newly formed national Specialized Industries group, Wells Fargo also provides expertise across industries including Food, Beverage & Agribusiness; Investor Real Estate; Government; and Technology through its regional presence. Wells Fargo Commercial Banking provides industry expertise, solutions and local service to customers with annual sales typically ranging from $5 million to $2 billion.

As part of the new structure, 35-year industry veteran, Greg O’Brien has been named division executive for Wells Fargo Commercial Banking’s Northeast Division. Based in Boston, O’Brien oversees 14 commercial banking teams with offices located in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York and Eastern Canada. He reports to Kristin Lesher, head of Wells Fargo Commercial Banking’s East Region.

“Boston is a key growth market for our company and business,” said Kristin Lesher, head of Wells Fargo Commercial Banking’s East Region. “Under Greg’s leadership, we’re fortunate to have a strong team dedicated to serving our commercial customers in Boston and throughout the Northeast region. Our team is committed to helping local businesses succeed and are active members in the community, supporting important organizations.”

O’Brien is on the board of directors of the Boston Chamber of Commerce and the board of overseers for Babson College. He is also on the council of the New England Historic Genealogy Society. He joined Wells Fargo in 2011 when he was named regional leader for the New England Middle Market Banking operations. Under his leadership, Wells Fargo created its New England Commercial Banking Division in 2015 and has experienced significant growth in these markets, opening three new offices in the past four years.

Local Commercial Banking Team

In addition to O’Brien, the following leaders have also been named to Wells Fargo’s Northeast Commercial Banking team.

Gary Pirri, a 35-year banking veteran, has been named as market executive for New England Commercial Banking, reporting to O’Brien. Pirri will oversee New England commercial banking teams in Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; Manchester, New Hampshire; Portland, Maine; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Worcester, Massachusetts. Pirri currently serves as treasurer and is a board member of The Sports Museum in Boston.

Reporting to Pirri, Wells Fargo has named three existing leaders from its legacy Middle Market Banking and Business Banking teams as commercial banking leaders in New England.

  • Boston-based Bob Beveridge has been named as commercial banking leader for Massachusetts. A U.S. Army veteran, Beveridge has 16 years of banking experience and joined Wells Fargo in 2009. He relocated to Boston in 2015 when he was tapped for the bank’s Capital Finance team.
  • Michael DiSandro, a 30-year banking veteran, continues to lead teams in Southeastern and Eastern Massachusetts as well as the Providence-based Rhode Island team, which he helped establish in 2016 as part of Wells Fargo’s New England expansion.
  • Based in Boston, Paul Forester will oversee Wells Fargo’s Commercial Banking teams covering Northern New England (Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont) as well as teams in Boston and Central/Western Massachusetts. A 30-year commercial banking veteran, Forester joined Wells Fargo in 2013, and in 2016 led the New England Middle Market Banking expansion in Northern New England opening offices in Manchester, New Hampshire and Portland, Maine.

As part of O’Brien’s expanded regional territory, he has also named longtime Wells Fargo bankers as market executives in the key markets of Buffalo, New York and Shelton, Connecticut.

  • Tara Handforth, a longtime Wells Fargo banker will continue to lead commercial banking operations in Central and Western New York, as well as Eastern Canada, where the company has offices in Montreal and Toronto.
  • Based in Shelton, Connecticut, and with offices in Hartford, Connecticut, Greenwich, Connecticut, and Albany, New York, Kevin Burke, a 26-year banking veteran, will continue to lead commercial banking operations throughout the Constitution State and New York’s Capital Region.

“I am very proud of this leadership team, all well-respected and experienced bankers, in the region. They each bring passion and proven leadership in serving the financial needs of commercial companies throughout the Northeast,” Lesher said.

Boston Community Support

Wells Fargo is committed to local Massachusetts communities. In 2018, Wells Fargo donated $10.3 million to nonprofits and schools, team members volunteered more than 10,500 hours, and approximately 1,250 team members live and work in Massachusetts communities.

To learn more about Wells Fargo in Boston, please visit https://www.wellsfargo.com/com/focus/boston/

For more information on Wells Fargo Commercial Banking please visit wellsfargo.com/commercialbanking.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,700 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 32 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 262,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune’s 2018 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

About Wells Fargo Commercial Banking

Wells Fargo Commercial Banking delivers a comprehensive suite of products and industry expertise to serve the diverse financial needs of companies with annual sales typically ranging from $5 million to $2 billion. As a leader in serving commercial customers, Wells Fargo offers financial services, including credit and treasury management solutions, as well as specialized expertise across industries including Technology, Food, Beverage & Agribusiness, Investor Real Estate, Government, and Small Business Administration Lending. With more than 6,000 team members across 24 divisions and 80 markets nationwide, Commercial Banking provides customers with local service and decision making.

Dana C. Obrist, 980-307-9583
dana.c.obrist@wellsfargo.com
@DanaObristWF

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