SAN FRANCISCO - Lewis W. Coleman, chairman of Banc of America Securities, announced Thursday that he plans to resign at yearend to become president of a Bay Area nonprofit foundation.
The move caps a tumultuous career at Bank of America. Mr. Coleman, 58, who holds a degree in economics from Stanford University, joined Bank of America in 1986 after 13 years in management positions at Wells Fargo & Co. He helped steer Bank of America through the loan crisis of the late 1980s as chief financial officer and was widely regarded as the lead candidate to take the chairman's job. But in 1995 he was passed over in favor of David A. Coulter.
Mr. Coleman left the company that year to join Montgomery Securities, the San Francisco investment bank that was acquired by Charlotte, N.C.-based NationsBank Corp. in 1997. A year later he found himself back at Bank of America when it merged with NationsBank.
In a recent management shakeup, Mr. Coleman lost oversight for Banc of America Securities' equities operations and was instead made a senior banker, responsible for advising clients on deals.
"Lew has played the pivotal leadership role in more than doubling our equity revenues since our acquisition of Montgomery Securities," said Ed Brown, president of global corporate and investment banking. "He has set the stage perfectly for the new leadership team of Carter McClelland, Scott Kovalik, Revell Horsey, and Tom Thornhill to continue to drive the business to new heights. While we're sorry to see Lew go, we've deeply valued his insightful leadership and wish him the best."
Mr. Coleman is joining the Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation for education and scientific research.
