Truist is splitting its consumer and small business bank in two, and both halves will be run by people from outside. Dontá Wilson, who led the combined unit as chief consumer and small business banking officer, is leaving, effective December 31, 2026. The bank disclosed the changes in an 8-K on October 16, 2026.
The biggest name is D. Steve Boland, who joins as vice chair to help drive the bank’s strategy. He has more than 30 years in financial services and retired from Bank of America in 2025 as chief administrative officer, having earlier been president of Retail Banking there.
Shimna Sameer becomes chief consumer banking officer. That is a change of plan. Truist had already announced she would join to run Truist Wealth. Now she gets the consumer franchise, with a brief to grow core deposits and deepen primary banking relationships. She spent more than 20 years at Bank of America.
Small business gets its own boss. Jeff Warner arrives from PNC Financial Services Group, where he spent more than 25 years and most recently ran small business, as chief small business banking officer.
All three report to Mike Lyons, president and CEO. The release gives no start dates.
With Sameer moving, Truist Wealth gets interim leadership. Jeff Dunn, who runs Truist Private Banking, Specialty Wealth and Institutional, and Bryan Cram, head of Truist Wealth Brokerage, will share the job on an interim basis, reporting to chief wholesale banking officer Kristin Lesher.
Lyons pitched the reshuffle as a growth move. “Truist has all the ingredients to become one of the top-performing banks in the country,” he said. “These leaders have demonstrated track records driving growth and operational excellence.”
Herald View
Truist went to Bank of America and PNC to fix its retail bank, and pulled a brand new wealth hire off her job to do it. That tells you the pressure sits in deposits, not fees. If core deposits don’t grow within a few quarters, there is nobody left from the old structure to blame.
