Wells Fargo Names Oscar Suris Head of Corporate Communications

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today named Oscar Suris the head of Corporate Communications and an executive vice president of the Company.

Suris joins Wells Fargo from Ford Motor Company where he served most recently as director of Corporate Communications and Development. He succeeds Larry Haeg, who led Corporate Communications at Wells Fargo and its predecessor, Norwest Corporation, for 20 years. Haeg, who plans to retire in 2010, will continue with the company as an advisor.

"Oscar's experience as a senior communicator, which includes six years at Ford and ten as a business journalist, makes him an ideal choice to lead this important department at a time of great challenge and opportunity in our industry,” said John G. Stumpf, president and CEO. "We want to share our story with all our key stakeholders, showing them we're a company that wants to help customers be financially successful, that cares about the well-being of the communities we serve and is a wise steward of our shareholder's investments. That’s where Larry’s legacy has and Oscar’s skills will play such an important role in the continued success of our Company.”

Suris will report to Patricia Callahan, an executive vice president who oversees the Office of Transition for the Wells Fargo-Wachovia merger, Corporate Communications, Corporate Human Resources, Enterprise Expense Management and the Social Responsibility Group.

"Oscar will work closely with our key business groups and departments as we look at our communications efforts as part of a broad effort to further strengthen our Company’s outstanding reputation,” Callahan said.

Most recently at Ford, Suris was strategic communications lead for Executive Chairman Bill Ford and the automaker's philanthropic arm, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. He previously led Ford's global corporate news and North American product communications teams. Prior to Ford, he was director of Corporate Communications at AutoNation, Inc., America's largest automotive retailer, and was a staff writer for five years at The Wall Street Journal. Suris, a native of Cuba and the son of two retired bankers, is a graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in finance.

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 10,400 stores, over 12,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally.