Wells Fargo & Co Chief Executive Charles Scharf reportedly had a lot to say about Black people and the lack of talent that exists.
According to NBC, Scharf allegedly made a few comments in a Zoom meeting this summer that left many Black employees feeling some type of way. He “reiterated” that the bank had trouble reaching diversity goals there wasn’t much minority talent to choose from, as told by Reuters, NBC states.
In a company-wide memo that was reportedly sent on June 18th, Scharf reportedly stated, “While it might sound like an excuse, the unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of black talent to recruit from,” Scharf said in the memo, seen by Reuters.”
On this same day, he also announced diversity initiatives as George Floyd protests erupted all over the world.
While many employees were offended, there were a few who stated the meeting was “incredibly constructive.”
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“The meeting was incredibly constructive… I walked away being incredibly surprised at how genuine and sincere he is,” said Alex David, president of the Black/African American Connection Team Member Network.
Many Black senior executives in corporate America expressed their frustrations.
“There is an amazing amount of Black talent out there,” said Ken Bacon, a former mortgage industry executive who is on the boards of Comcast Corp, Ally Financial Inc and Welltower Inc. “If people say they can’t find the talent, they either aren’t looking hard enough or don’t want to find it.”
