Dive Brief:
- Former Fifth Third CEO Greg Carmichael is retiring as executive chair of the bank’s board April 18, the bank said in a filing Monday.
- The board voted to decrease its size, meaning Carmichael’s departure will leave no vacancy, the bank said.
- Carmichael served as CEO of Fifth Third from 2015 until last year, becoming board chair in 2018.
Dive Insight:
Carmichael’s departure is not entirely unexpected, though it will come just nine months after he stepped down as CEO. Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Chris Marinac said Carmichael “expressed an interest to transition to full retirement sooner versus later.”
Carmichael, 61, told American Banker last April that he had always intended to retire while he was still in good health and had the energy to pursue other business opportunities.
Carmichael's retirement is concurrent with Fifth Third’s annual shareholder meeting.
The shrinking of Fifth Third’s board makes it unlikely that Tim Spence, who has served as the bank’s CEO since July, would succeed Carmichael as chair at this point.
However, the bank’s filing does not indicate by how many directors the bank’s board will shrink. And a second director, Jewell Hoover, is also retiring, according to a letter to shareholders written by Nicholas K. Akins, Fifth Third’s lead independent director.
If the bank’s board is losing only one post, representing Carmichael, Spence, in theory, could be named to the seat vacated by Hoover. A more likely scenario appears to be that one of Fifth Third’s existing directors will become chair.
"Mr. Carmichael's leadership, with a focus on implementing strategies to achieve through-the-cycle financial performance, will serve as a foundation for our company to continue to deliver strong results for years to come," Akins wrote in his letter to shareholders, which was included in a separate proxy filing Monday.
