Wachovia to Focus on Customer Understanding

US financial services firm Wachovia has restructured its business to exploit its improved customer understanding. Ranjana Clark, former head of the firm's treasury-services division, will lead a new unit comprising corporate marketing, market research, customer service and e-commerce.

Ken Thompson, Wachovia CEO explained: 'We know more about our customers' needs and behaviours than ever before. These changes will better align our internal organisation with the customer and enable us to exceed expectations at every stage of a customer's life or business cycle.'

Clark hails from Calcutta, and grew up in New Delhi, where she completed her Bachelors degree in Economics and MBA. Having worked for Deutsche Bank for six years and briefly at Merrill Lynch, she then joined Wachovia in 1989, where latterly she oversaw the company's merger with First Union and managed 800 geographically dispersed employees.

Thompson continued: 'Ranjana is the perfect leader to bring together these functions. While leading the third-largest treasury management bank in the US, Ranjana demonstrated expert ability to apply innovation to achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction.'

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia had total assets under management of $314.6 billion, and equity assets of $106.3 billion as of March 31. The firm, which was founded in 1879, now has 110,000 employees and is online at www.wachovia.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.