Bank of America Names Holliday Chairman
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (
) --
Bank of America
(BAC) - Get Report
has elected Chad Holliday to succeed Walter Massey as chairman of the board.
Holliday
joined the board last September as part of a government-mandated overhaul that ousted several longtime directors. The onetime engineer served as chairman and CEO of
E.I. du Pont de Nemours
(DD) - Get Report
until 2008, and the 62 year-old also serves on the board of
Deere
(DE) - Get Report
.
"Chad brings excellent perspective with experience as a chairman and chief executive of a prominent global business. He is a terrific partner on our board and will be an excellent chairman," CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement. "On behalf of the management team and all our associates, I thank Walter for his service on the board and for his steady hand as our chairman during a uniquely challenging period."
Holliday was voted in at the annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, which appeared far less contentious than the 2009 gathering. At that meeting, shareholders voted to split the roles of chairman and CEO, thereby ousting then-CEO Ken Lewis from his leading board position. Massey, who was approaching mandatory retirement age, was seen as a placeholder until the bank was on more solid operational and managerial ground.
Lewis left at the end of 2009, after the bank repaid $45 billion in bailout funds and selected Moynihan to take his place. Bank of America said its 13 other directors were elected to the board by "comfortable margins" as well.
"We have all the pieces in place," Moynihan said in his statement.
The
Associated Press
reported that Moynihan also said he may lift the firm's penny-per-share quarterly dividend payout, as long as capital levels remain adequate and the economy continues to improve. Bank of America shares were up 1% at $17.65 in afternoon trading.
-- Written by Lauren Tara LaCapra in New York
.