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
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
