OREANDA-NEWS. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) announced today that Frank Pizzo, a 17-year company veteran, has been named the new regional president for its Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region, succeeding Jim Johnston who will return to the U.S. at the end of the year. Pizzo, who will be based in London and report to Richard Yorke, head of Wells Fargo’s International Group, assumes his new role later this year, pending regulatory approval.

“Over the last four years, and under Jim’s excellent leadership, Wells Fargo has grown revenue, increased business activity and nearly doubled our headcount as we serve more customers across EMEA,” said Yorke. “With his extensive industry and leadership experience, I’m confident that Frank will build upon this success as he coordinates our operations and represents Wells Fargo as we continue to strengthen our capabilities and presence in this very important region.”

With more than 1,000 team members in EMEA, Wells Fargo is focused on serving its U.S. commercial and corporate customers that have business operations in the region, multinational companies that conduct or wish to conduct business in the U.S., and financial institution customers. The company’s primary business lines include Global Financial Institutions, Global Banking, Global Transaction Banking, International Trade Services, Capital Finance, Commercial Real Estate, Corporate Trust, Asset Management and Investment Banking and Capital Markets.

As regional president, Pizzo will work with other Wells Fargo business leaders to serve commercial, corporate and financial institution customers across the region leveraging the company’s global network and expanded capabilities. He will also represent the interests of Wells Fargo to bank regulators, government officials, central banks, and financial institutions.

Pizzo currently serves as managing director and head of the Loan Syndications & High Yield Debt Capital Markets Group for Wells Fargo Securities and is responsible for managing high yield bonds, loan sales, and syndicated finance for investment grade, leveraged, and real estate-related transactions. With more than 20 years of banking experience, he joined Wells Fargo in 1998 and later assumed responsibility for the Leverage Finance practice where he managed lending to private equity groups nationwide. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Pizzo was managing director at Chase Securities in New York, and vice president in the Syndications and Corporate Distribution Group for BA Securities, Inc. in San Francisco.

Pizzo received his bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and is a board member of the Loan Sales and Trading Association.

Wells Fargo’s International Group operates from 35 countries outside the U.S., including branches in the Cayman Islands, Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), Hong Kong, London, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, and Toronto.