Wells Fargo promoted former J.P. Morgan Chase leader Tanya Sanders to run its consumer-facing automotive division as Laura Schupbach retires.
Sanders will become executive vice president of Wells Fargo Auto effective immediately, the lender said July 21. Sanders, who has more than 20 years of financial services experience, joined Wells Fargo in 2019 to lead the auto division's underwriting and fulfillment group. In 2020, she transitioned to Wells Fargo Auto's transformation team, which according to a spokeswoman, was to better position the business for sustainable and profitable long-term growth with a focus on the customer experience.
From 2014 to 2019, Sanders was managing director of business operations for Chase Auto, Wells said in a statement, where she oversaw shared services operations for retail and private-label auto originations. Chase has private-label partnerships with Subaru, Aston Martin, Maserati, McLaren and Jaguar Land Rover.
Sanders also was a senior vice president at Bank of America for nine years and worked at General Electric.
She is the co-chairman for Wells Fargo Consumer Lending's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. As a member of the American Financial Services Association board of directors, Sanders also is a committee chairman for the Women's Leadership Council.
Schupbach spent more than 26 years at Wells Fargo in various roles. She was the head of Wells Fargo Auto since April 2017, and from October 2011 to March 2017 she led the company's insurance division.
The transition comes during a pivotal time as a microchip shortage prompted by the coronavirus pandemic disrupts new- and used-vehicle inventory. Wells Fargo reported record earnings on July 14, driven largely by the release of reserves set aside for loan losses during the pandemic. The bank's automotive originations rose 48 percent to $8.3 billion in the second quarter. Wells Fargo's current auto portfolio sits at $50.8 billion.
