Wells Fargo named Julie Caperton head of Corporate Development, a position responsible for supporting business leaders across Wells Fargo by managing the company’s acquisition and divestiture process. Caperton, who joined the company in 2002, will report to Paul Ackerman, corporate treasurer, and will be based in Charlotte.

Caperton joins Corporate Finance after serving as head of Wholesale Banking’s Asset-Backed Finance & Securitization (ABF) team in Wells Fargo Securities. In that role, she led the origination, distribution, and retained risk management for structured finance and securitization transactions. In the last four years, Caperton and the ABF team experienced double-digit growth in revenue and net income to become an important contributor to Wholesale Banking’s financial results.

Long-time team member Caperton has also held executive leadership roles in the Corporate Trust Services (CTS) business under Wells Fargo’s Specialized Lending, Service and Trust division. Prior to joining the former Wachovia in 2002, Caperton was a securities law and structured finance attorney with a large law firm.

Bruce Helsel, former head of Corporate Development, will retire at the end of March 2015 after a 29-year career with Wells Fargo. Since joining the company in 1984, Helsel has held leadership roles in Financial Risk Management, Community Banking, and Wholesale Banking. He became head of Corporate Development in 2006 and since then has led Wells Fargo through 60 mergers and acquisitions.

“Today’s appointment reflects one of Wells Fargo’s enduring strengths: the depth of its executive talent,” Ackerman said. “Throughout Julie’s career she has demonstrated high-caliber leadership, so we’re pleased she can now bring that expertise and experience to a key position within Wells Fargo.”

“Throughout his tenure, Bruce’s wise counsel and attention to detail allowed us to develop and grow in a manner consistent with our vision and values,” said CEO John Stumpf. “We are proud of Bruce’s legacy and his contributions over the decades to our shared achievements.”