Wells Fargo's New CEO Makes First Big Hire
A politician, banker and Washington insider, Bill Daley may be able to help the bank's image problem.
Wells Fargo has tapped William Daley, former White House chief of staff for President Barack Obama, former investment banker at JPMorgan Chase and part of Chicago’s iconic Daley political family (his father and brother were mayors) to be its vice chairman of public affairs. Previously, after he lost a bid to be mayor of Chicago, Daley worked as an advisor for Wells’ new CEO Charlie Scharf when the latter ran The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
Daley is Scharf’s first big hire, brought in to help improve relations with Washington, according to Bloomberg News. Daley made inroads into Washington as commerce secretary from 1997 to 2000, under President Bill Clinton; in 2011, he was named chief of staff for Obama, where he served a year. He also was on the board of Fannie Mae from 1993 to 1997.
The John Marshall Law School graduate practiced at Mayer, Brown & Platt. He was vice chairman, CEO and president of Amalgamated Bank of Chicago from 1990 to 1993.
Wells Fargo’s recent period of scandals has hurt the bank, and Scharf’s entry in October was an effort to turn it around.
“Charlie is a proven leader and an experienced CEO who has excelled at strategic leadership and execution and is well-positioned to lead Wells Fargo’s continued transformation,” said Wells Fargo Board Chair Betsy Duke in a statement when Scharf was named.
Scharf has been in financial services for over 24 years and was CEO of Visa from 2012 to 2016 before joining BNY Mellon. Earlier, he served as CEO of Retail Financial Services for JPMorgan Chase for nine years.
“The addition of Bill and this role to our operating committee is an important statement that we want different perspectives on our senior-most management committee and that we will think more broadly about our stakeholders as we move forward,” Scharf said in a statement.
Daley, 71, told Bloomberg of his new position, “It’s an acknowledgment that this is really important. There’s no doubt Charlie’s bringing a sense of urgency and speed.”
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