CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wachovia Corp.
President and CEO Ken Thompson announced today that the roles of Chairman
and CEO have been separated and that Lanty Smith will serve as
non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Thompson continues to
serve as President and CEO and as a director.
"At this challenging time for the financial services industry and for
Wachovia, my management team and I are pleased that Lanty agreed to assume
the role and responsibilities of Chairman, freeing me to focus 100% of my
time and attention on guiding the company through the current environment
and building and delivering enhanced value for the benefit of our
shareholders, customers and employees," said Thompson.
Thompson will continue to serve on the Board and to report to the full
Board of Directors. He will continue to be fully responsible for management
of the company. The change is effective immediately.
"Lanty's deep knowledge of Wachovia and his commitment to our
shareholders and other vital constituencies have made him an extremely
effective lead independent director. He will be a highly constructive
Chairman of the Board as we all work toward our common mission of building
value for our shareholders," said Thompson.
Wachovia's Board has always recognized the importance of strong
independent leadership on the board and believes the separation of Chairman
and CEO roles strengthens this independent leadership and is consistent
with best practices in corporate governance.
Smith has served as a director since 1987 and as lead independent
director since 2000. He also serves as Chairman of the Executive Committee,
and in the past he has chaired the Audit Committee. He is Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Tippet Capital, a merchant banking firm
headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. He was formerly a partner with the
international law firm of Jones Day and for the past 20 years has been
engaged in private equity and venture capital investing.
About Wachovia
Wachovia Corporation (NYSE: WB) is one of the nation's largest
diversified financial services companies, with assets of $808.9 billion and
market capitalization of $53.8 billion at March 31, 2008. Wachovia provides
a broad range of retail banking and brokerage, asset and wealth management,
and corporate and investment banking products and services to customers
through 3,300 retail financial centers in 21 states from Connecticut to
Florida and west to Texas and California, and nationwide retail brokerage,
mortgage lending and auto finance businesses. Globally, clients are served
in selected corporate and institutional sectors and through more than 40
international offices. Our retail brokerage operations under the Wachovia
Securities brand name manage more than $1.1 trillion in client assets
through 18,600 registered representatives in 1,500 offices nationwide.
Online banking is available at wachovia.com; online brokerage products and
services at wachoviasec.com; and investment products and services at
evergreeninvestments.com.
SOURCE Wachovia Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.wachovia.com
http://www.wachoviasec.com
http://www.evergreeninvestments.com
CONTACT:
Media: Mary Eshet, +1-704-383-7777, or
Christy Phillips-Brown, +1-704-383-8178, or Investors: Alice
Lehman, +1-704-374-4139, or Ellen Taylor, +1-212-214-1904, all of
Wachovia Corporation
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