Charlie Scharf

Charlie Scharf
Born	Charles W. Scharf 24 4, 1965
Birthplace	New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo
Known for	CEO of Wells Fargo, former CEO of Visa Inc., former CEO of BNY Mellon
Education	Johns Hopkins University (BA) New York University (MBA)

Charles W. Scharf (born April 24, 1965) is an American business executive who serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of Wells Fargo & Company, one of the largest financial institutions in the United States. He assumed the role of CEO in October 2019, at a time when the bank was contending with significant regulatory and reputational challenges stemming from its 2016 fake accounts scandal. In October 2025, the Wells Fargo board of directors named him chairman in addition to his CEO responsibilities. Before joining Wells Fargo, Scharf served as CEO of the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) and, prior to that, as CEO of Visa Inc. His career in financial services has spanned more than three decades, including formative years working under Jamie Dimon at several major financial institutions.

Early Life

Charles W. Scharf was born on April 24, 1965, in New York City. He grew up in the New York metropolitan area. Details about his family background and upbringing remain largely private, though his career trajectory suggests an early interest in finance and business. Scharf would go on to pursue higher education at institutions in the mid-Atlantic and New York regions, ultimately setting the stage for a career that would place him at the helm of some of America's most prominent financial companies.

Education

Scharf earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He subsequently obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from New York University's Stern School of Business. His graduate education in New York positioned him within the city's financial ecosystem, and he soon began building a career in banking and financial services.

Career

Early Career and Work with Jamie Dimon

Scharf's career in financial services is closely associated with Jamie Dimon, the longtime CEO of JPMorgan Chase. Scharf worked alongside Dimon at several institutions over the course of many years, earning a reputation as a protégé of one of Wall Street's most prominent executives. This professional relationship shaped much of Scharf's early and mid-career, providing him with experience in retail banking, corporate finance, and large-scale institutional management. Through his work with Dimon, Scharf gained exposure to the operational complexities of major financial institutions and the regulatory environments in which they operate.

At JPMorgan Chase, Scharf held senior leadership roles that gave him oversight of significant business lines. His work at the firm established him as a capable operator within the upper echelons of American banking.

CEO of Visa Inc.

Scharf was appointed CEO of Visa Inc., the global payments technology company, a role he assumed in the mid-2010s. In September 2014, Fortune profiled Scharf as Visa's incoming chief executive, noting his background in banking and financial services. At Visa, Scharf oversaw operations during a period of rapid growth in digital payments and electronic commerce. His total compensation at Visa in 2013 was reported at $24.2 million.

Scharf's tenure at Visa ended in late 2016, when he stepped down as CEO. Reuters reported on his departure and the appointment of his successor, Visa's technology chief. His time at Visa further solidified his standing as a senior figure in the American financial services industry, having led one of the world's largest payment processing networks.

CEO of BNY Mellon

Following his departure from Visa, Scharf was named CEO of the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), one of the world's largest custodian banks and asset servicing companies. At BNY Mellon, Scharf was tasked with modernizing the institution's operations and driving growth in its core businesses of asset management, custody, and clearing services. His tenure at BNY Mellon, while shorter than some had anticipated, provided him with experience leading a systemically important financial institution with a global footprint.

CEO of Wells Fargo

Appointment and Initial Challenges

In October 2019, Scharf was appointed CEO of Wells Fargo & Company, succeeding interim CEO C. Allen Parker. He arrived at the bank during one of the most turbulent periods in its 173-year history. Wells Fargo had been engulfed in scandal since 2016, when it was revealed that employees had created millions of fake customer accounts to meet aggressive sales targets. The fallout was extensive: the bank faced billions of dollars in fines, congressional scrutiny, leadership turnover, and in February 2018, the Federal Reserve imposed an unprecedented $1.95 trillion asset cap on the institution, restricting its ability to grow its balance sheet until it demonstrated sufficient improvements to its internal controls and governance.

Scharf's mandate upon joining was clear: overhaul the bank's risk management and compliance infrastructure, resolve outstanding regulatory consent orders, and restore confidence among regulators, investors, and customers. In a 2025 Fortune profile, Scharf recalled the scale of the remediation work, describing a document that was 3,162 pages long, encompassed 6,000 tasks, and involved 28,000 people working on compliance and regulatory efforts.

Shortly after his arrival, Wells Fargo appointed William M. Daley, a former White House Chief of Staff, as vice chairman to lead public affairs, reflecting the bank's need to rebuild relationships with regulators and political stakeholders.

Regulatory Remediation

A central focus of Scharf's tenure has been the resolution of multiple consent orders imposed by federal regulators, including the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. These consent orders addressed deficiencies in the bank's risk management, compliance, and governance practices that had been identified in the wake of the fake accounts scandal and subsequent investigations.

By 2025, the bank had made substantial progress under Scharf's leadership. Banking Dive reported that the Wells Fargo board credited Scharf specifically for the resolution of seven consent orders during 2025, including progress toward the lifting of the $1.95 trillion asset cap that had been imposed by the Federal Reserve. The asset cap had been one of the most significant regulatory constraints on any major American bank, and its eventual resolution was seen as a milestone in Wells Fargo's recovery.

Operational Strategy and Technology

Beyond regulatory remediation, Scharf has focused on modernizing Wells Fargo's operations and technology infrastructure. In November 2025, speaking on the topic of artificial intelligence in banking, Scharf stated that AI would change the nature of bank jobs and that headcounts in the industry would shrink as institutions adopted the technology. He emphasized the importance of finding the right balance between human workers and AI-driven automation. His candid remarks on the subject drew attention within the banking industry for their directness about the potential workforce implications of technological change.

Appointment as Chairman

On July 31, 2025, Wells Fargo's board of directors announced its intention to name Scharf chairman of the board in addition to his role as CEO. The board also announced a special equity award for Scharf in connection with the appointment. He formally assumed the chairman role in October 2025, consolidating leadership of the bank under a combined chairman-CEO structure. This decision reflected the board's confidence in Scharf's stewardship during a period of significant transformation for the institution.

Compensation

In January 2026, Wells Fargo disclosed that Scharf's total compensation for 2025 was $40 million, representing a 28% increase from his $31.2 million compensation in the prior year. Bloomberg reported that the $40 million figure was the highest level of compensation for a top leader of the bank. The pay increase was tied by the board to Scharf's role in resolving consent orders and advancing the bank's recovery from the scandal era.

CEO pay at major American corporations has been a subject of broader public and political scrutiny. An Associated Press analysis examined the ratio of CEO compensation to median worker pay across large companies, a metric that has drawn increasing attention from shareholders and policymakers.

Personal Life

Diversity Remarks Controversy

In September 2020, Scharf became the subject of public controversy over comments he made regarding workforce diversity at Wells Fargo. According to Reuters, in a company-wide memo and a Zoom meeting with employees, Scharf attributed the bank's difficulty in meeting diversity goals in part to what he described as a limited pool of qualified Black talent.

The remarks drew criticism from employees, civil rights organizations, elected officials, and members of the public. Forbes reported on the backlash, noting that Scharf's comments were made against the backdrop of a national reckoning with racial inequality in the United States following the killing of George Floyd in May 2020. CNBC also reported that the comments "ruffled feathers" within the company and across the financial services industry.

Scharf subsequently apologized for the remarks, acknowledging that they reflected his own "unconscious bias." He stated that there was no shortage of qualified diverse talent and committed to strengthening the bank's diversity and inclusion efforts.

The Financial Times also covered the incident and its broader implications for corporate diversity commitments in the banking sector.

Recognition

Scharf's leadership at Wells Fargo has been defined primarily by the bank's progress in resolving its regulatory challenges. The Wells Fargo board of directors publicly credited Scharf for the resolution of seven consent orders in 2025 and the progress toward lifting the Federal Reserve's asset cap, which had been one of the most visible penalties imposed on any major American bank in recent history.

His $40 million compensation package for 2025, the highest awarded to a Wells Fargo leader, was cited by the board as a reflection of the bank's improved regulatory standing and operational performance under his tenure.

Fortune published an extensive profile of Scharf in October 2025, characterizing his leadership at Wells Fargo as a high-stakes effort to rehabilitate a 173-year-old institution. The profile described him as a "Jamie Dimon protégé" who "bet his career" on saving the bank.

Throughout his career, Scharf has held the top executive position at three of America's major financial institutions — Visa Inc., BNY Mellon, and Wells Fargo — a distinction held by a small number of executives in the financial services industry.

Legacy

Scharf's legacy remains closely tied to the outcome of Wells Fargo's ongoing recovery from its fake accounts scandal and the associated regulatory penalties. His appointment as both chairman and CEO in 2025 marked a consolidation of leadership at the bank that signaled the board's assessment that the institution had turned a significant corner under his stewardship.

The resolution of multiple consent orders and the progress toward lifting the Federal Reserve's asset cap during his tenure represented tangible milestones in the bank's rehabilitation. These achievements addressed some of the most consequential regulatory actions ever imposed on a major American bank. The $1.95 trillion asset cap, in particular, had constrained Wells Fargo's growth for years and had become a symbol of the regulatory consequences of the bank's misconduct.

At the same time, the 2020 controversy over Scharf's remarks about diversity in the financial services workforce remains a part of his public record. The incident highlighted ongoing challenges in corporate America regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the scrutiny that executives face when addressing these issues publicly.

Scharf's public comments on artificial intelligence and workforce transformation in the banking industry in 2025 also positioned him as an executive willing to address directly the potential disruptions that emerging technology may bring to the sector's labor force.

His career arc — from working under Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan Chase, to leading Visa and BNY Mellon, to taking on the challenge of Wells Fargo's recovery — represents a trajectory through several of the most significant institutions in American finance over a period of more than three decades.