Wells Fargo Names Head of Sustainability As Banks Navigate Geopolitical Net Zero Challenges: 7 Things to Know

Financial services giant Wells Fargo has promoted Jeffrey Schub to executive VP and head of sustainability, according to Schub's LinkedIn profile. His new role surfaced as banks and financial services firms worldwide strive to navigate various ESG pushback from the Trump Administration and some U.S. Republican leaders.

Here are seven things to know about Wells Fargo's business; sustainability challenges facing financial services firms; and Jeffrey Schub's executive experience.

1. Business Background: Wells Fargo, founded in 1852, is based in San Francisco, California. The company focuses on four business segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells Fargo had $1.9 trillion in assets as of February 2025, the company said. The business had roughly 226,000 employees as of the end of 2023, according to Statistica. Total revenue was $20.37 billion in Q4 of 2024, down slightly from $20.48 billion in Q4 of 2023.

2. Business Conduct: Wells Fargo has faced some legal challenges in recent years. The latest case involves U.S. regulator CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) suing Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and Bank of America in December 2024 over alleged fraud on the Zelle payment app, The Los Angeles Times reported. But by January 2025, the Trump administration had fired CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, and some pundits thought it was unlikely the Trump administration would pursue the Zelle-related lawsuit. A separate 2024 lawsuit, plaintiffs alleged that Wells Fargo defrauded shareholders by conducting sham job interviews of non-white and female applicants it had no plans to hire, Reuters reported.

3. Sustainability Strategy: Meanwhile, Wells Fargo in 2024 committed to deploying $500 billion in sustainable financing by 2030 to support a low-carbon economy, ESG News reported. Moreover, the company is striving to achieve net-zero GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by 2050, including client emissions attributable to the bank's financing.

4. Geopolitical Pressures & Challenges: Still, banks and financial services firms worldwide have faced ESG pushback from the Trump administration and some Republican leaders in the United States. Amid that backdrop, Wells Fargo exited the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) in December 2024, Reuters reported. (Other NZBA departures include Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.)

5. Executive Leadership: Jeffrey Schub, executive VP and head of sustainability, essentially succeeds former Chief Sustainability Officer Robyn Luhning, though Schub's new title is not CSO. Also of note: Wells Fargo did not issue a press release about Schub's new role, according to a search of the company's media site on February 10, 2025.

Either way, Schub has considerable sustainability experience. He previously was Wells Fargo's interim co-head of enterprise sustainability (May 2024-February 2025), and senior VP and sustainable finance integration leader (August 2024-February 2025). Earlier, he was executive director at the Coalition for Green Capital, among other key positions held, according to Schub's LinkedIn profile.

6. Additional Talent: Wells Fargo employs additional sustainability experts. One example involves International Head of Sustainability Andrew Bowley. According to Bowley's LinkedIn profile, he is "responsible for leading the development of strategic initiatives on Sustainability, covering Wells Fargo’s activities outside the U.S. with a particular focus on APAC and EMEA."

7. Executive Perspectives: Describing his new role via LinkedIn, Schub wrote on or about February 5, 2025: "Thrilled to share that I’m stepping into a new role at Wells Fargo as Head of Sustainability. In this position, I’ll be leading our enterprise Sustainability team, with responsibility for the bank's sustainability strategy in support of our business objectives. I’ll also be directing initiatives across the company to support our employees, customers, and communities as they pursue their sustainability goals.

Our work is evolving quickly, with new challenges, solutions, and innovations emerging every day. I’ve seen firsthand the incredible talent and expertise Wells Fargo has in sustainability to take advantage of these opportunities. I’m excited to work closely with colleagues across our lines of business, our Foundation, and our operations. Our team is ready to support their efforts and deliver positive outcomes for the bank, our customers, and the communities we serve.

I look forward to building on the great work of my predecessor, Robyn Luhning, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to lead a dedicated team of passionate experts."

Chief Sustainability Officers: Why Technology Partners Should Care

By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC.

The bottom line: Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO customer needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.