Wells Fargo Advisors has named David Kowach to serve as president and head of the wirehouse, succeeding Mary Mack, who was tapped in July to lead Wells Fargo’s community banking division.
Kowach is a long-time Wells Fargo insider, having spent nearly all of his 25-year career in financial services with the company. Since 2012, he’s been the head of WFA’s private client group, the brokerage’s largest business channel with 11,000 advisors. Before that, Kowach led WFA’s business development group and was responsible for advisor recruitment and retention, growth strategies and national sales.
Kowach will be based in St. Louis and report to David Carroll, the senior executive vice president and head of Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management unit.
In a statement, Carroll said Kowach is “well known and highly respected for his industry knowledge, deep relationships and proven results.” Carroll also commended Kowach’s creativity and vision for the future of the advisory business.
Mack was named head of the brokerage in late 2013, when long-time WFA chief Danny Ludeman retired. At the time, the change had some advisors and branch managers concerned about the future of the firm’s corporate culture and morale, as Ludeman was widely viewed to be the last “advisor advocate” in senior management.
In her new role, Mack replaces Carrie Tolstedt, who retired in July as head of the community banking division.