Bank of America shakes up senior leadership — with two big changes for Charlotte
Bank of America shook up its senior leadership recently, adding five new members, naming a new CFO and announcing shifts in the role of two prominent local figures at the Charlotte-based bank.
The changes bring a new crop of potential leaders at the bank to the forefront, and raises questions of who might be poised to eventually succeed CEO Brian Moynihan. He has led the bank since 2010 and indicated in a letter to employees he has no plans to step down anytime soon.
In his memo, Moynihan outlined the changes:
Cathy Bessant, the bank’s Charlotte-based chief technology and operations officer, will move to Paris to serve as vice chair of global strategy.
Bessant plans to move to France sometime over the next few months, depending on the state of the pandemic, and plans to return to Charlotte after her time in the role, the bank confirmed Tuesday.
Bessant has held the technology and operations role for more than 12 years and has loomed large in the world of Charlotte banking. She was named the “Most Powerful Woman in Banking” by American Banker three times in a row, chaired a committee to redevelop North Tryon Street and led efforts to combat homelessness in the city, among other work.
As for being named “most powerful,” she told the Observer in 2017 that she was was thrilled to be honored with other women from Charlotte and that “I think my kids will think I’m cool for a little while.”
The bank will split the technology and operations pieces of Bessant’s former role between two new executives: Aditya Bhasin, who has worked for Bank of America since 2004, will assume the role of chief technology and information officer. Tom Scrivener has been named chief operations executive.
The bank also announced that Andrea Smith, the bank’s chief administrative officer, will retire at the end of the year to focus on philanthropy in Charlotte. She will be succeeded by Steve Boland.
Smith has worked for the bank since 1988. Locally, she co-chairs the Leading on Opportunity Council, which is working to address economic mobility in Charlotte. And Smith previously served as the chair for the Charlotte Chamber.
As part of her transition, Smith will create a Bank of America alumni council that will focus on “connecting and engaging retirees and former employees of the company as clients, advocates and community leaders,” Moynihan wrote in his memo.
And Paul Donofrio, who has served as Chief Financial Officer since 2015, will step down from that role to oversee sustainable finance for the bank. He’ll be replaced by Alastair Borthwick next quarter.
Other leadership changes at BofA
News of the latest changes was released just weeks after a separate announcement that two of the bank’s top leaders, chief operating officer Tom Montag and vice chair Anne Finucane, would step down.
In his note to employees, Moynihan indicated his desire to stick around as CEO, stating that he would continue to steward the company’s responsible growth plan, established in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
“It will continue to be my privilege to serve with (the leadership team) as CEO as we drive responsible growth through its second decade,” Moynihan said in the release announcing the changes.
Previous executive switches have raised concerns that Bank of America’s center of gravity might be shifting away from Charlotte, its headquarter city. The bank employs more than 16,000 in the city.
This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 12:19 PM.
