Wells Fargo taps Bill Daley, former White House official, head of public affairs

Wells Fargo & Co, which recently tapped one-time Jamie Dimon protégé Charles Scharf to be its CEO, has hired another former JP Morgan Chase executive and previous White House official, William Daley, to head public affairs. Daley, who was named the vice-chairman of public affairs, will report directly to Scharf and joins the fourth-largest U.S bank from Bank of New York Mellon, where Scharf was chief executive officer prior to his latest assignment.

"I am delighted to welcome Bill to Wells Fargo," said Scharf in a statement on Thursday. "I have known Bill and worked with him for many years and know we will benefit from his unique background." Daley, who left BNY Mellon days after Scharf's exit, had previously served at the White House twice - he was Secretary of Commerce during the Clinton administration and was handpicked by Barack Obama in 2011 to be his chief of staff. In 2000, Daley also served as chairman of Al Gore's presidential campaign.

Daley's appointment at Wells Fargo marks the first significant top-level hire under Scharf, an early sign that the new CEO may bring in more of his long-time lieutenants to the scandal-plagued bank. Wells Fargo is operating under a regulatory microscope, as it tries to rebuild its reputation with customers, investors and politicians after employee whistle-blowers revealed in 2016 that the bank had opened potentially millions of unauthorized accounts.

Daley has previously served on the board of Boeing Co and has also served as a director at Merck and Co. He is also a past president of SBC Communications.

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