Wells Fargo & Company’s Board of Directors announced its intention to appoint the company’s CEO Charlie Scharf as the chairman of the board.
The company said when he steps into the chairman position it intends to appoint a Lead Independent Director to support the Board’s independent oversight. The board said its move reflected its desire to retain Scharf as the company’s CEO and to recognize his leadership in transforming Wells Fargo.
“Over the last several years, our operating committee and our 213,000 employees have executed a multi-faceted transformation under extremely difficult circumstances. It is a privilege to lead Wells Fargo and our talented and dedicated team, and I look forward to building on our significant momentum to continue improving our performance and market position in everything we do,” Scharf said.
In addition, the board said it intended to award Scharf a one-time special equity grant of $30 million in restricted shar rights and 1,046,000 stock options. The award will vest on a pro rata basis following the fourth, fifth and sixth anniversaries of the grant data. The board said the award would promote further alignment of Scharf’s compensation with long-term shareholder value creation.
“We are thrilled to recognize Charlie’s significant contributions to Wells Fargo and are planning to appoint him as Chairman of the Board,” Steven Black, current Chairman of the Board, Wells Fargo, said. “We also plan to appoint a Lead Independent Director to maintain independent Board leadership. The special equity award is designed to acknowledge Charlie’s role in leading Wells Fargo through an unprecedented transformation, creating shareholder value and positioning the Company for the future. We look forward to Charlie’s continued guidance and strategic direction as we navigate the future.”