US Bancorp Promotes President Gunjan Kedia to CEO Post

U.S. Bancorp has chosen its new CEO from within its ranks.

Gunjan Kedia, the Minneapolis-based lender’s president, will become its new chief executive following its April 15 shareholders meeting, U.S. Bancorp announced Wednesday (Jan. 29).

Kedia has also been elected to the U.S. Bancorp board, with current CEO Andy Cecere serving as executive chairman.

“One of the hallmarks of U.S. Bancorp is its thorough and measured approach to succession planning. The company’s bench is deep, and the talent to grow and promote from within is impressive,” said U.S. Bancorp Lead Independent Director Roland Hernandez, thanking Cecere for his nearly eight years of service as CEO.

“At the same time, we are inspired by Gunjan’s vision for the company, and we are confident in her ability to guide U.S. Bancorp into a vibrant and engaging future that honors the past while achieving new possibilities,” Hernandez added.

Kedia, the bank’s first female CEO, joined the company in 2016 and has spent nearly 30 years in the financial services sector, holding executive and leadership roles at companies such as State Street Financial, BNY, McKinsey and Company and PwC.

Cecere has been with U.S. Bancorp for close to 40 years, becoming CEO in 2017 after stints as president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

The bank’s most recent quarterly earnings, as PYMNTS reported earlier this month, “took note of changing dynamics in deposit activity, growth in card loans, and momentum in its payments-related business lines that should last through the current year.”

Cecere said during a call with analysts that “going into the year, there was much uncertainty with respect to the broader macroeconomic environment, persistent inflation, significant rate volatility, political and regulatory headwinds to name a few, but we effectively managed through the changes and most importantly executed on our strategic objectives.”

Meanwhile, PYMNTS spoke earlier this month with Rob Seidman, senior vice president and chief product officer at the bank’s Avvance division, about balancing trust between financial services firms, merchants and consumers amid threats like fraud and compliance risk.

There’s some friction that needs to be introduced into digital interactions to make sure that “you’re saying ‘yes’ to the right people and ‘no’ to the wrong people,” he told PYMNTS. “But you also need to be doing this in a way so that the customer finds it all highly transparent.”