SAN FRANCISCO - Bank of America Corp. Thursday gave the first indication of what a recent nationwide restructuring will mean for its most populous state, announcing a new senior management structure for California that promoted two executives and prompted the resignation of a third.
Liam E. McGee, formerly head of southern California for Bank of America, has been named to a new statewide position as president of Bank of America, California. Connie Beck, Mr. McGee's counterpart in Northern California, was named head of the company's western regional private bank. Ms. Beck will keep her position as senior banking executive for the northern region for local philanthropic duties.
All this leaves Kathleen Brown, the former California state treasurer who joined Bank of America's investment management group in 1995, on the outs. She resigned as the president of the private bank's western region.
At the same time, the bank announced a nationwide restructuring of its private bank. Ms. Brown's counterpart in the eastern region, William Helms, also plans to leave the bank, said spokeswoman Patricia K. Campbell. The 10 regions within Private Bank East and Private Bank West have been consolidated to five regions, each with a regional executive at the head. These executives currently report to Owen G. "Bob" Shell, head of Bank of America Asset Management.
But the bank has started an external search for a person to fill the new position of president of the private bank nationwide, the spokeswoman said.
Ms. Brown said in a statement, "In this period of change, it is time for me to leave Bank of America and my good colleagues to find challenges and rewards elsewhere." She is one of the more politically connected bankers in the state; both her father and brother are former California governors.
Last week, the Charlotte, N.C., bank said it would layoff between 9,000 to 10,000 of its employees nationwide, mostly from the middle and senior management ranks swollen after years of acquisitions. Cost-savings are to be spent on boosting revenues in key areas like e-commerce and investment management.
In an interview, Mr. McGee, 45, said the decision to name a single person in charge of California came from a decision to have "spans of control" nationwide.
Mr. McGee, 45, said that he will concentrate on increasing the bank's market share in the state, particularly within the small business sector and the premier bank, a part of the retail bank that services high-net-worth individuals who fall below the qualifying threshold for the private bank.
