Charles H. Noski will retire as chairman and a member of Wells Fargo’s board of directors on Sept. 30. Noski already stepped down as chairman, but he will remain as a director until his retirement date. Noski has served as a director on the board since June 2019 and as chairman since March 2020. Noski previously served as chair of the board’s audit and governance and nominating committees.
To replace Noski, Wells Fargo’s board elected Steven D. Black as chairman, effective immediately. Blacl has more than 45 years of financial services experience and has served as co-CEO of Bregal Investments, a private equity firm, since September 2012. The board also appointed Wayne M. Hewett to serve as a member and as chair of the governance and nominating committee.
“Chuck stepped into the chairman role at an important inflection point for the company — both in terms of our ongoing work to improve our controls and governance and in the early days of what became an unprecedented global pandemic,” Charlie Scharf, CEO of Wells Fargo, said. “I have greatly appreciated the wisdom and advice Chuck has provided to me during this challenging period. On behalf of Wells Fargo, its employees and directors, I thank Chuck for his service, including his focus on advancing the board’s governance practices and related disclosures, such as on important environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics.”
“Since I joined the board in 2020, Chuck has worked tirelessly to lead the board in support of the goal of making Wells Fargo the preeminent provider of financial services in the U.S.,” Black said. “I am honored to continue the work and appreciate the support of my fellow directors in this role.”
“It has been a privilege to serve as the chairman of Wells Fargo’s board,” Noski said. “I thank our shareholders for their support and my fellow directors and our talented management team for their hard work and dedication on behalf of Wells Fargo and its shareholders.”
“We are fortunate to have Steve as our new chairman,” Scharf said. “I am looking forward to working closely with Steve and Wayne in their new leadership roles, as well as with the entire Wells Fargo board, as we continue to make progress on changes that will enable us to reach our full potential.”
