Truist has appointed former Bank of America executive Cathy Bessant to its board, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said Monday in a press release.
Bessant retired from BofA in 2023 as vice chair of global strategy but served the bank in several leadership posts over 40 years, including chief operations and technology officer, chief marketing officer and president of global corporate banking.
As a non-employee director on Truist’s board, Bessant will receive an annual cash retainer of $110,000 and an annual grant of $200,000 in restricted stock units that vest at the end of the year they are granted, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Her arrival at Truist brings the bank’s board back up to 13 members, after Steven Voorhees, the retired CEO of packaging manufacturer WestRock, left the panel at the end of last year.
It also adds another “heavyweight financial institution veteran” – to quote a banking analyst on a recent Truist earnings call – to the bank’s stable.
American Banker named Bessant the most powerful woman in banking in 2017, 2018 and 2019 – incidentally, before Citi named future CEO Jane Fraser as its president.
Bessant left Bank of America to become CEO of the nonprofit Foundation For The Carolinas – a role she relinquished in April.
Bessant often appeared ahead of her time. As early as 2020, she spoke to the role of artificial intelligence, saying: “The most fundamental thing wrong with AI is that we make it a mystery.”
“We have a culture that says we have to be safe before we’re fast,” she said at the time.
Bessant’s arrival at the $549 billion-asset Truist, which shares a hometown with BofA, comes as the smaller of the two banks has set a long-term return on tangible common equity target of 16% to 18%.
“We’re delighted to welcome Cathy, with her deep experience in financial services and philanthropy,” Truist Chair and CEO Bill Rogers said in a statement Monday. “Cathy’s impressive track record of purpose-driven leadership and successful digital, technology and operational transformation on a global scale will serve Truist, our teammates, clients and stakeholders well.”
Bessant, for her part Monday, said she “look[s] forward to working alongside the Truist board to help advance the company’s strategic direction and purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities.”
“I’m honored to join the board of such a great franchise in this exciting moment of industry transformation,” she said.
