Bank of America recently moved its senior leadership, added five new members, named new CFOs, and announced changes to the roles of two key local individuals in the Charlotte-based bank.
The changes bring a new crop of potential leaders to the bank and raise questions about who can ultimately succeed after CEO Brian Moynihan. He has headed the bank since 2010 and has written to employees informing them that he has no immediate plans to step down.
Kathy Besant, the bank’s Charlotte-based chief technology and operations officer, will travel to Paris to serve as vice president of global policy.
Besant plans to move to France in the next few months due to the status quo and plans to return to Charlotte after the time of her role, the bank confirmed on Tuesday.
Bezant has been in charge of technology and operations for over 12 years, and he is a big man in the world of Charlotte Banking. The American banker named her “the most powerful woman in banking” three times in a row, chaired a committee to redevelop North Trian Street, and led efforts to fight homelessness in the city, among other things.
Named “Most Powerful,” she told the Observer in 2012 that she was delighted to be honoring other women in Charlotte, and that “I think my children will be nice to me for a while.”
Bank Besant’s previous role in technology and operations will be divided into two new officers: Aditya Bhasin, who has worked at Bank of America since 2004, will assume the role of Chief Technology and Information Officer. Tom Scrivener has been appointed CEO.
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 replaced by Steve Bolland.
Smith has worked for the bank since 1988. At the local level, she is co-chair of the Leadership on Opportunity Council, which works to address economic dynamism in Charlotte. And Smith previously served as president of 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 customers, lawyers and community leaders,” Moynihan wrote in his memo.
And Paul Donofrio, who has been chief financial officer since 2015, will step down from that role to oversee sustainable finance for the bank. He will be replaced by Alastair Borthwick next quarter.
News of the latest changes comes just weeks after the bank’s two chief executives, chief executive Tom Montag and vice-president Finn Finuken, announced their resignations.
In his note to employees, Moynihan expressed his desire to remain as CEO, saying he was continuing the company’s responsible growth plan, which he set up after the 2008 financial crisis.
“It will be my privilege to serve as CEO (leadership team) as we make responsible growth in the second decade,” Moynihan said in a press release announcing the changes.
The previous executive switch has expressed concern that Bank of America’s center of gravity, Charlotte, is moving away from its headquarters city. The city employs more than 16,000 people.
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