Alan Johnson, founder of compensation consultancy Johnson Associates, calls Sloan’s announced departure “kind of inevitable.”
He says it is likely the board has been seeking replacements in recent months, and hopefully isn’t reacting only to Sloan’s testimony before Congress several weeks ago.
Johnson believes the most logical successor for Sloan will be an executive at a large bank with experience in the industry but who is perhaps a No. 5 or No. 6 in line elsewhere and likely not in line to become CEO at their current place of employment.
“They’re probably going to be compensated a lot,” Johnson adds, noting that it will likely be “at least” what Sloan was paid, since the incoming CEO of Wells Fargo will need “credibility” and “tough skin.” They will also likely be leaving a hefty amount of compensation behind.
He notes that an external search was the right decision for Wells Fargo. “You want to bring in someone who can legitimately say, ‘Hey, I just showed up.’”
Agenda / March 28, 2019