Wells Fargo named Scott Powell chief operating officer, effective December 9, 2019. He will report directly to Wells CEO and President Charlie Scharf.
Powell most recently was CEO of Santander Holdings USA, as well as CEO of Santander Consumer USA Holdings, a publicly traded consumer finance company focused on vehicle finance and third-party servicing.
“I have known Scott for many years, and his tremendous experience, proven track record and unquestioned integrity will make him a great addition to our management team,” Scharf said. “He’s the ideal person to take on this new position as we seek to transform Wells Fargo so that high-quality execution, clear accountability and operational excellence become unquestioned components of our culture. These elements are critical for us as we tackle our most important priority, regulatory remediation, and also create the foundation from which to build Wells Fargo and to best serve our customers.”
Powell will oversee regulatory execution and relations, enterprise shared services and a range of operational functions across the company.
As CEO of Santander Holdings USA, Powell led its financial turnaround, including resolving significant regulatory issues, implementing customer-focused oversight programs, improving financial and operating controls and increasing community and employee engagement. Prior to Santander, Powell held a number of senior roles at JPMorgan Chase, including head of consumer banking, lending operations and consumer risk management. He also was CEO of consumer lending at Bank One, and he spent 14 years at Citi in various risk management roles.
