Fifth Third Bancorp CEO Greg Carmichael is retiring from his role effective July 5, according to a company statement on Friday (April 15). Carmichael will become executive chairman of the board and will provide counsel to Tim Spence, his successor as CEO.
Spence joined Fifth Third in 2015 as chief strategy officer and more recently was named president in 2020 in charge of consumer bank, payments and strategy. In that role, he was responsible for Fifth Third’s retail banking, mortgage, auto and specialty lending and payments business lines. He was also tasked with advancing key strategic growth capabilities such as digital, marketing, strategy and FinTech partnerships.
Before joining Fifth Third, Spence was a senior partner in the financial services practice at Oliver Wyman, a global strategy and risk management consulting firm. Spence is known for his vision regarding technology and was instrumental in helping Fifth Third move forward in offering digital-first capabilities.
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Marsha Williams, lead independent director of Fifth Third’s Board, said Spence’s past experience helping Fifth Third develop strategies will add to his leadership capabilities. Williams pointed to Spence’s outstanding leadership abilities, especially seen during the pandemic.
“Tim has brought resilience throughout the pandemic that has been instrumental in propelling Fifth Third to the forefront of customer-centric, digital-first banking, enabling our employees to serve the Bank’s customers during their time of greatest need,” Williams said.
Spence said that taking over for Carmichael as the next CEO is an honor and he’s looking forward to being in the top spot of Fifth Third, which is a “great company because of our people because we serve strong communities.”
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“I am honored to serve as Fifth Third’s next CEO and humbled to follow in the footsteps of an incredible leader like Greg,” said Spence. “We will continue our track record of delivering on our commitments, our focus on investing for the future and our culture of accountability, collaboration and community leadership.”