Wells Fargo Launches New Innovation Group
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Wells
Fargo (NYSE:WFC), long a leader in delivering innovative products,
services, and technology
to its customers,
today announced the formation of a new Innovation
Group, which will work in partnership with its major businesses to meet
evolving customer needs and stay ahead of the shifting competitive
landscape. Steve
Ellis, who had served as the head of Wholesale Services, has been
named the leader of the new group. Ellis reports to Hope
Hardison, who will assume the role of chief administrative officer
(CAO) when Pat
Callahan retires August 31. The CAO group now includes Human
Resources, Corporate Communications, Enterprise Marketing, Government
and Community Relations, and the Innovation Group.
“Creating the Innovation Group puts an even larger focus on creating the
products, services, and technologies that will allow us to stay
competitive and allow our customers
to do their banking when, where, and how they would like,” said John
Stumpf, chairman and CEO of Wells
Fargo.
The Innovation Group will be focused primarily on five core areas: research
and development; innovation strategies; payment
strategies; design and delivery; and analytics.
“The end goal is for the Innovation
Group to serve as a catalyst
for the company to quickly transform its business models, processes and
programs, and user
experience all while successfully managing within an enhanced risk
and regulatory environment,” said Ellis, a 28-year veteran of Wells
Fargo who will remain based in Los Angeles.
Initially moving with Ellis
to the new group will be three of his Wholesale Services teams,
including payment strategies, research and development, and social
strategy and collaboration.
Other teams and team members from across the enterprise are expected to
become part of the Innovation Group over time.
Ellis is known for leading the efforts that, 15 years ago, resulted in
Wells Fargo establishing the industry’s first single sign-on point of
access to a variety of financial
services for businesses. Today, the Commercial Electronic Office®
(CEO®) portal, and CEO Mobile®
that launched in 2007, offers banking services to commercial, corporate,
and institutional customers in more than 190 countries.
The Wholesale Services team also recently launched the Wells Fargo Startup
Accelerator, now in its third round of funding and mentoring select
global startups, with the aim of helping to advance innovative
technology solutions for the financial services industry, ranging from omnichannel
solutions, to biometric
authentication, to beacon
technology and much more.
Added Ellis, “Today we are seeing new financial service models and
smaller competitors with different economics and restrictions that can
operate at a faster pace. But no one knows our customers better than we
do, and our new Innovation
Group can leverage that knowledge to deliver great new solutions to our
retail, commercial, and corporate customers.”
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is a nationwide, diversified,
community-based financial services company with $1.7 trillion in assets.
Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides
banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial
finance through 8,700 locations, 12,800 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com)
and mobile
banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who
conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 266,000 team
members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United
States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2015
rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to
satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed
financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells
Fargo Blogs and Wells
Fargo Stories.
Contacts
Wells Fargo & Company
Alan Elias, 415-947-3994 (office)
Alan.elias@wellsfargo.com
415-722-8529
(mobile)
@AlanEliasWF
