• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

'I'm in favor of taxes,' says Nvidia's Jensen Huang—but he doesn't agree with Bill Gates on his plan to slow an AI fallout

2

Current price of oil as of August 28, 2026

3

The $40 trillion national debt is growing while Social Security goes broke—because wealthy Boomers are collecting over $100k in benefits per year

1

'I'm in favor of taxes,' says Nvidia's Jensen Huang—but he doesn't agree with Bill Gates on his plan to slow an AI fallout

2

Current price of oil as of August 28, 2026

3

The $40 trillion national debt is growing while Social Security goes broke—because wealthy Boomers are collecting over $100k in benefits per year
FinanceWells Fargo

Wells Fargo Names Betsy Duke as its New Chair in Response to Scandal

By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 15, 2017, 9:54 PM ET
Aspen, Colorado
ASPEN, CO - JUNE 10, 2017: A sign hangs over the entrance to the Wells Fargo Bank in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)Robert Alexander Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Wells Fargo & Co (WFCNP) vice chair Betsy Duke will replace retiring chair Stephen Sanger next year, one of several changes announced on Tuesday in a board overhaul following a sales practices scandal.

Sanger will retire at year-end, earlier than his previous plans to depart in April upon reaching a mandatory retirement age of 72.

The two longest-serving directors, Cynthia Milligan and Susan Swenson, will retire at the same time. Juan Pujadas, a former PricewaterhouseCoopers principal, will join as an independent director on Sept. 1.

The board also detailed changes to four of its committees and said it would make more changes over time, trying to balance competing needs for directors with Wells Fargo experience and those with new perspectives on the company.

Wells Fargo had long maintained a reputation as a well-run, highly profitable institution that managed to sell more products to customers than any of its big-bank rivals. That image was shattered nearly a year ago when it revealed that thousands of its employees created as many as 2.1 million phony accounts in customers’ names without their permission.

Since then, the bank has ousted executives, clawed back pay, changed incentive structures for low-level employees and implemented a new risk-management structure. Nonetheless, it still facing numerous lawsuits and regulatory probes and in recent weeks detailed new problems in its mortgage, auto loan and retail banking operations.

In a joint interview, Duke and Sanger said the board expedited changes to its structure and composition after discussions with investors, who offered most directors relatively little support in a vote earlier this year.

“This company is going to end up being a better bank than it would have been without this incredible wakeup call,” Duke said. “It had been so successful for so long it was difficult to recognize the need for change.”

‘Community Banker’

Changes Wells Fargo has made “enable us to have our arms around sales practices issues in a way that we obviously didn’t before,” Sanger said.

Issues found within business units are being elevated to the board and regulators, and are then being addressed, much more quickly than before, he added.

Sanger, who has been on Wells’ board for 14 years, became chair in October after then-Chair and Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf abruptly departed and the board decided split the two roles.

Investors told directors they had not made changes to the board’s structure and composition quickly enough, prompting the hiring of Mary Jo White, former Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to conduct an internal review.

White, who now works at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, interviewed directors about who the next chair should be and consulted with regulators before handing down an assessment, Sanger said.

Duke said she saw herself as someone who can ensure Wells Fargo changes from a sales-driven institution to one focused on service.

For more on Wells Fargo, see Fortune’s video:

“I am a community banker to my very toes,” she said, pointing to her experience at small banks in Virginia and at the Federal Reserve.

The two Wells Fargo board members who received the lowest vote totals, Enrique Hernandez and Federico Peña, will remain on the board, but director Karen Peetz will replace Hernandez as chair of the risk committee.

Sanger said investors told him they did not have a particular problem with any individual, but voted against directors who held leadership positions on the board or its committees. He characterized Hernandez as one of the “very strongest directors” whose departure would be bad for shareholders. (Additional reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Writing by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by David Gregorio and Andrew Hay)

About the Author
By Reuters
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance


Most Popular

Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

    Latest in Finance


    Most Popular

    © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
    FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.