The board of directors of Bank of America have elected Brian Moynihan as chief executive officer and president of the company. He will assume the office and join the board of directors following the retirement of Kenneth Lewis on December 31, 2009.
Mr Moynihan has held senior leadership positions at Bank of America representing experience across virtually all business lines. He currently is president of consumer and small business banking.
Walter Massey, chairman of Bank of America, said: “Brian’s wide range of experience, his relationships inside and outside of the company, and his demonstrated ability to understand business dynamics and effect constructive change made him the best person for the position. Brian has been the top executive leading wealth management, corporate and investment banking and consumer banking. He brings the right combination of knowledge, experience and leadership to achieve all of our company’s goals for the future.
“While we considered external candidates, the board decided after listening to shareholders, regulators and others that Brian’s experience was commensurate with or better than any of those candidates, and he offered the advantage of a smooth transition.”
Mr Lewis said: “He understands the US and global financial services markets, and is extremely adept at the art of managing risk and reward. He knows this company and its capabilities as well as, if not better than, anyone. Most importantly, he cares deeply about our customers, our shareholders, our associates and the communities we serve.”
Mr Moynihan said: “We have everything we need at Bank of America to be the best financial services company in the world. What we need to do now is very simple. We need to execute. My goal is to refocus our efforts and attention on those core capabilities that will make us the best financial services firm in the world.
“But as the world has changed, we must continue to be flexible and build on our strong tradition, and change to meet our customers’ needs. We think of this not as changing the business model, but changing the way we do business. We are committed to fairness and transparency as we seek to provide the best financial products and services in the world.”
