Thomas R. Nides, a former diplomat and Morgan Stanley executive, is set to join Wells Fargo as vice chairman next month, the bank announced Friday.
Nides will report directly to CEO Charlie Scharf and join the lender’s operating committee. He will advise the company’s senior management on banking and management issues and work with leadership on ways to expand client relationships, according to a statement from the bank.
A former U.S. ambassador to Israel, Nides spent two years there before stepping down from his post in July.
“I am excited to join Wells Fargo at this pivotal time in the company’s transformation journey,” Nides said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the team to expand our products and services in new and exciting ways, and deepening our relationships with customers, government officials and the people we serve in our communities.”
Nides’ appointment comes as Wells continues to deal with numerous regulatory issues. He replaces William Daley, another Washington and Wall Street vet, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Before joining Wells in 2019, Daley was an executive at BNY Mellon. He worked as secretary of commerce under President Bill Clinton and White House chief of staff under President Barack Obama.
Nides served as chief of staff to the U.S. Trade Representative and was a senior adviser to then-House Speaker Tom Foley and to House Majority Whip Tony Coelho, according to his government profile.
He worked as the chief administrative officer at Credit Suisse for three years before joining Morgan Stanley as chief operating officer in 2005.
He was tapped by the Obama administration in 2011 as deputy secretary of state for management and resources. He returned to Morgan Stanley as vice chairman before President Joe Biden appointed him the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Nides also served as the senior vice president of Fannie Mae in Washington from 1998 to 2001.
Nides had contemplated returning to work for a major bank or moving to a large asset management firm or M&A boutique. He ultimately chose Wells Fargo because he saw the bank’s potential to recover from its long-standing issues, a person familiar with his thoughts told Bloomberg.
“The breadth of Tom’s experience across the public and private sectors will be an important asset to Wells Fargo as we continue to move the company ahead,” Scharf said in a statement. “The success of our transformation depends not only on the changes we make inside Wells Fargo, but on how we work with our stakeholders to bring those changes to life. Tom will be instrumental to that work.”
