Jim Hays, who took over as head of Wells Fargo Advisors and the Wealth and Investment Management Client Relationship Group in 2019, has announced his retirement after 35 years in the industry, according to a memo sent to advisors from Barry Sommers, CEO of Wealth and Investment Management (WIM).
Sol Gindi, who joined Wells Fargo in October 2020 as chief financial officer for WIM, will take over Hays’ position immediately, reporting to Sommers.
Gindi will lead Wells Fargo's brokerage and wealth management channels, the independent business and First Clearing. The WIM unit within Wells Fargo had a total head count of 25,165 as of the end of the first quarter 2022.
Hays will stay on until July 1 to facilitate a smooth transition, the memo said.
“Jim is deeply respected and has had great success at Wells Fargo, leading every legacy group with advisors including Private Wealth Financial Group, Wealth Brokerage Service, Private Client Group, the Independent Advisor Group and Digital,” Sommers wrote. “That deep bench of experience is part of why I’ll personally miss him and why I’m thankful he’s remaining with us for a successful transition.”
Hays originally took over for David Kowach, who was promoted to head of community banking at Wells Fargo. He’s now head of affluent client services.
