U.S. Bancorp names Oracle's Kimberly Ellison-Taylor to board

Finance and technology executive Kimberly Ellison-Taylor has been elected to the board of U.S. Bancorp. She is the second Black woman director of the Minneapolis company, which recently set new diversity goals for itself.

Ellison-Taylor, 50, is an executive director of finance thought leadership at the information technology company Oracle. She joined the board of the $554 billion-asset U.S. Bancorp on Jan. 22, the company said Wednesday.

Ellison-Taylor has “great expertise at the intersection of technology and finance,” which should benefit U.S. Bancorp as it steps up its digital banking capabilities, Chairman and CEO Andy Cecere said in an announcement. “Kimberly’s expertise in areas of strategy, digital transformation and innovation will be an excellent addition to our board."

Banks have faced heightened scrutiny for the racial and gender makeup of their boards and leadership teams in recent years. The issue has taken on a greater sense of urgency over the past 12 months, given nationwide protests over racial injustice and the pandemic’s outsize impact on communities of color. Some proponents argue that boardroom diversity is especially critical because boards can exercise influence over the culture and strategic direction of a bank.

U.S. Bancorp’s announcement comes shortly after the Minneapolis company committed to mandating diverse slates of candidates in hiring. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo made the same pledge.

Ellison-Taylor is the second Black member of the 14-member U.S. Bancorp board in addition to Dorothy Bridges, 65, a former banker and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis official. Ellison-Taylor is also the sixth woman and fourth person of color on the board, according to the company. Marc Casper, chairman and CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific, will not seek reelection to U.S. Bancorp's board this year, the company said in a securities filing Wednesday.

Ellison-Taylor will serve on the audit and public responsibility committees.

She has been with Oracle since 2004 and has held her current role since 2019, U.S. Bancorp said. Some of her past roles included global strategy leader for Oracle's financial services industry group and executive director and global leader for health, human and workforce industry solutions.

From late 2016 to early 2018, she chaired the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She was the youngest person, fifth woman and first person of color to hold that role. She has also served as chair of the Association of International Certified Public Accountants.

Ellison-Taylor sits on the board of Mutual of Omaha.