Dive Brief:
- Wells Fargo executives welcomed Heather Blair to the bank’s technology team Monday. Blair was tapped for the role of CIO in the company’s branch and ATM division, Tracy Kerrins, consumer CIO and head of enterprise generative AI at Wells Fargo, said on LinkedIn.
- Blair brings with her two decades of technology leadership experience in banking and financial services, most recently at Discover Financial Services, where she served as SVP of consumer banking technology for over a year, according to her LinkedIn profile. Prior to that, she spent 17 years at JPMorgan Chase in numerous roles, including head of technology, CTO and application development director.
- Blair will be based out of Wells Fargo’s new technology hub in Columbus, Ohio, and report to Kerrins. “Heather has tremendous technical depth and expertise in branch and ATM channels spending nearly two decades at JPMorgan,” the company said in an email.
Dive Insight:
Wells Fargo is midway through a decade-long modernization push that’s brought several key technology leadership changes over the last several years. Technology infrastructure modernization is ongoing at the bank, which earmarked $900 million for incremental technology investments this year, CFO Mike Santomassimo said in a January earnings call.
“We continue to invest in technology and digital platforms to transform how we serve both our consumer and commercial customers,” Santomassimo said. “This includes continuing the transition of our applications to the cloud, migrating into new data centers and investing in data platforms to drive more insights.”
Blair is the latest technology executive hired by the company to help drive modernization efforts across its banking businesses.
Last year, the bank welcomed SVP and Head of Technology Bridget Engle, an industry veteran who previously served as CIO and head of engineering at BNY for seven years and as a CIO and CTO at Bank of America during the prior six years. Wells Fargo elevated Kerrins from within to lead the banks’ generative AI strategy concurrently.
“Our new generative AI team will work closely with our data and technology platform management teams, as well as each business, on identifying and delivering on the potential of generative AI responsibly,” Wells Fargo President and CEO Charlie Scharf said in a July announcement.
Kerrins rose to head of technology as part of a C-suite reshuffle that elevated Saul Van Beurden to senior EVP and CEO of consumer and small business banking in 2023. Van Beurden is a JPMorgan Chase veteran who served for five years as the company’s CIO of consumer and community banking.
At the Columbus hub, Blair joins another former JPMorgan Chase colleague, Wells Fargo CIO of Core Banking Technology Alan Varrasso, who was onboarded in 2022. The two executives’ time at JPMorgan Chase overlapped for ten years prior to 2022.
“Having had the opportunity to work with Heather in the past, I’ve seen firsthand her leadership, vision, and impact,” Varrasso said on LinkedIn. “She brings a wealth of experience to the organization and more importantly is a true champion for female technology talent.”
