Wells Fargo hires another New York-based former JPMorgan executive for top admin post

Wells Fargo hired David Owen as the bank’s chief administrative officer starting June 24, adding another former JP Morgan Chase executive to CEO Charlie Scharf’s team.

Owen, who was previously head of wholesale digital at JPMorgan, will report to Scott Powell, the bank’s chief operating officer. In his role at Wells, Owen oversees the bank’s enterprise services, properties, data management and supply chain management.

Prior to joining JPMorgan in 2011, he was an executive at Bank of America for eight years.

The last CAO at Wells Fargo, Hope Hardison, left amid clashes with the bank’s regulators in 2018.

While the titles of the two roles are the same, Owen will oversee a different portfolio than Hardison did, according to spokesman Peter Gilchrist. In a settlement with regulators over her role in the bank’s sales scandal, Hardison was fined $2.25 million.

Over more than a decade, Wells Fargo created millions of sham accounts in customers’ names, among other misconduct. In a February settlement with the federal government, the bank was fined $3 billion for its misconduct.

Since taking over the beleaguered bank last year, Scharf has instilled a long list of former JPMorgan executives, of which Scharf also is one. The list of JPMorgan alums includes Powell, vice chairman of public affairs Bill Daley, consumer lending CEO Michael Weinbach and wealth and investment management CEO Barry Sommers.

All are based in New York, despite the bank’s nominal headquarters in San Francisco.

Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest bank in the U.S. by assets, directly employs 27,000 people in Charlotte, the most of any city in which the bank has a presence.

This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 4:32 PM.