Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) recently announced
that the company's board of directors intends to appoint CEO Charlie Scharf as its chairman. When Scharf becomes chairman, the board plans to appoint a lead independent director to
support its continued independent oversight.
In addition, the board awarded Mr. Scharf a one-time special
equity grant consisting of $30 million in restricted share rights and 1,046,000
stock options.
These actions reflect the board’s desire to retain Scharf as the CEO of the company and to recognize his leadership in
transforming Wells Fargo, including creating significant shareholder value and
positioning the company for future success. Under his leadership, Scharf has built
an outstanding management team, significantly strengthened the company’s risk
and control infrastructure, improved its reputation, achieved critical
regulatory milestones, and delivered a strong financial performance, while making
strategic investments in driving growth of our core businesses.
The award will vest (and become exercisable for stock
options) on a pro rata basis following the fourth, fifth and sixth
anniversaries of the grant date. The Board believes the award design, coupled
with our stock ownership policy, promotes further alignment of Mr. Scharf’s
compensation with long-term shareholder value creation.
Steven Black, current chairman of Wells Fargo's board,
said: "We are thrilled to recognize Charlie's significant contributions to
Wells Fargo and are planning to appoint him as chairman of the board. We also
plan to appoint a lead independent director to maintain independent board
leadership. The special equity award is designed to acknowledge Charlie’s role
in leading Wells Fargo through an unprecedented transformation, creating
shareholder value and positioning the company for the future. We look forward
to Charlie’s continued guidance and strategic direction as we navigate the
future."
Scharf stated: “Over the last several years, our
Operating Committee and our 213,000 employees have executed a multi-faceted
transformation under extremely difficult circumstances. It is a privilege to
lead Wells Fargo and our talented and dedicated team, and I look forward to
building on our significant momentum to continue improving our performance and
market position in everything we do.”
More information about the Board’s leadership and the equity
award is available in the company’s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial
services company that has approximately $2.0 trillion in assets. We provide a
diversified set of banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as
well as consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable operating
segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and
Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked
No. 33 on Fortune’s 2025 rankings of America’s largest corporations.