Wells Fargo’s Schumaker-Krieg to retire in December

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Diane Schumaker-Krieg, the global head of research, economics and strategy at Wells Fargo, plans to retire at the end of the year.

Wells announced her retirement in a press release Thursday.

“It has been extremely rewarding to help build a best-in-class research division at Wells Fargo,” Schumaker-Krieg said in the release. "I'm proud of the work we've done."

Schumaker-Krieg has distinguished herself in the industry for focusing on the advancement of women in the workplace. Last year, for instance, she co-wrote “The Girl with the Draggin’ W-2,” a research report that analyzed the U.S. gender wage gap.

Since 2014, she has also served as co-chair of the diversity and inclusion council within Wells’ capital markets division. Additionally, she has led the company’s promotion committee for managing directors for more than a decade.

Over the past year, Schumaker-Krieg has pushed Wells’ research division to develop cutting-edge technology, including a tool that uses artificial intelligence to examine relationships between company fundamentals, stock-price movements and news stories.

Still, in a recent interview with American Banker, she said that gut instinct remains vital to being a successful analyst. “Until machines can mimic consciousness, there will always be a large human element of research,” Schumaker-Krieg said.

Schumaker-Krieg got her start in research in the 1980s, while working at the New York investment firm Dillon Read. She moved on to Credit Suisse First Boston when it bought her division. She later joined Wachovia Securities, which was sold to Wells Fargo during the financial crisis.

Last week, Schumaker-Krieg was named to American Banker's list of the Most Powerful Women in Finance for the ninth consecutive year.

In the press release Thursday, Walter Dolhare, the co-head of corporate and investment banking at Wells Fargo, praised Schumaker-Krieg’s “drive for excellence,” as well as the quality of her research.

“On behalf of our entire leadership team, we thank Diane for helping to build an incredible division and leaving a legacy of leadership that will continue to positively impact our clients and our team,” Dolhare said.