Wells Fargo announced on Aug. 10 that Charles Noski will retire from the San Francisco bank’s board. Noski has stepped down as chair, and he will remain as a director until he retires on Sept. 30, to facilitate the transition of the chair role. Noski has served as a director since June 2019 and chair since March 2020. He previously was chair of the board’s audit committee and, until Aug. 10, chair of its governance and nominating committee.
“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.”
The board elected Steven Black as chair, effective immediately. Black has more than 45 years of financial services experience with some of the largest financial institutions in the world and has served as co-CEO of Bregal Investments, a private equity firm, since September 2012. The board also appointed Wayne M. Hewett as a member and chair of the governance and nominating committee.
Noski took over as chair from Elizabeth Duke, a former Governor of the Federal Reserve and chair of the American Bankers Association, who resigned in the wake of Wells Fargo’s fake-accounts scandal.
“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,” said CEO Charlie Scharf. “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.”
Black added, “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. I am honored to continue the work and appreciate the support of my fellow directors in this role.”
Scharf added, “We are fortunate to have Steve as our new chairman. 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.”