Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB) announced Monday that Chief Executive Officer Ken Thompson has been replaced by Lanty Smith.
Thompson was asked to retired by the Board of Directors.
Smith will replace Thompson on an interim basis. Smith currently serves as chairman of Wachovia Corp., a position he has held since early May when the bank decided to separate the chairman and chief executive positions.
Ben Jenkins, the current Vice Chairman and President of the General Bank, will now serve as interim Chief Operating Officer.
All of the company's staff functions will report to Smith, with the company's four lines of business (General Bank, Wealth Management, the Corporate and Investment Bank and Capital Management) reporting to Jenkins.
The Board of Directors has formed a special committee to conduct a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer. Smith will head the search committee and will be joined by Robert A. Ingram, Mackey J. McDonald and Joseph Neubauer.
Smith has served as a director since 1987 and was lead independent director from 2000 until May 2008, when he became non-executive Chairman. He also serves as Chairman of the Executive Committee, and in the past he has chaired the Audit Committee. Smith is also Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tippet Capital, a merchant banking firm headquartered in
Thompson had been with Wachovia since 1976 and was CEO since 2000. Prior to being named CEO, Thompson was the Head of Global Capital Markets, President of Florida banking operations and the Head of Human Resources during his tenure at Wachovia.
For more Business News, please go to http://news.yourfindit.com/NewsList.aspx?cat=1&wcat=3
For more Financial News, please go to http://news.yourfindit.com/NewsList.aspx?cat=8&wcat=10
