Wells Fargo hires new communications chief from JPMorgan Chase

Wells Fargo has hired Amy Bonitatibus, a JPMorganChase veteran, as its new chief communications and brand officer.

Bonitatibus will succeed Barri Rafferty, who left Wells Fargo on May 1. Rafferty joined the San Francisco bank in 2020 without prior experience in the financial services industry.

Bonitatibus, who is scheduled to start on Sept. 12, will report to Bill Daley, Wells Fargo’s vice chairman of public affairs, according to a press release Tuesday.

“Amy brings a wealth of experience in financial services managing a large-scale communications organization as well as deep expertise in brand management,” Daley said in the press release. 

The hiring comes as the $1.9 trillion-asset bank faces pressure from regulators to improve its business and consumer-facing practices.

Wells Fargo is reeling from multiple public-relations disasters in recent years, including recent revelations of fake interviews with women and people of color to inflate the bank's diversity data.

Following those disclosures, Wells has temporarily suspended the use of its diversity guidelines for hiring.

Bonitatibus, who has worked at JPMorgan since 2012, currently serves as chief communications officer for the New York bank’s retail unit.

Bonitatibus began her career as a deputy press secretary for former New York Senator Hillary Clinton. She later moved into banking with a five-year stint at Fannie Mae that overlapped with the Great Recession. Last year, she was named one of the top "40 Under 40" leaders in public relations by PRWeek.