Senior EVP, General Counsel
Wells Fargo
In 2020, less than one year into becoming Wells Fargo CEO, Charles Scharf tapped Ellen Patterson to lead the bank's legal department. The job promised to be a challenge: Well Fargo faced a mountain of federal investigations plus class action lawsuits and overall concern it could not manage risk.
Four years after coming over from TD Bank, Patterson said, "I feel really good about the progress we've made putting a number of historical matters behind us."