One Seat, Then Both
Gunjan Kedia ran U.S. Bancorp for a year with her predecessor as executive chairman. In April, the $692 billion bank hands her the board too.
The announcement came exactly one year, to the day, after the last one. On January 28, 2025, U.S. Bancorp said Gunjan Kedia would become chief executive that April. On January 28, 2026, the board said it would hand her the chairmanship too - effective at this April's annual meeting, as executive chairman Andy Cecere retires after a career at the company.
One seat, then both, twelve months apart. For a $692 billion bank with roughly 70,000 employees, that is not ceremony. It is the board's verdict on her first year.
The Fee Business Path
Kedia's route to the corner office ran through the businesses that earn fees rather than interest. She joined U.S. Bancorp in 2016 after global executive positions at State Street Financial and BNY, and led the company's Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking business before rising to president, overseeing all revenue lines. Before banking there was McKinsey & Company and PwC; before that, an engineering degree in Delhi and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon, both taken with distinction.
More than 30 years in financial services produced a specific kind of operator - one the board's lead independent director, Roland Hernandez, described in terms of execution: "Gunjan is a remarkable leader who is well-respected by the Board, her team and our stakeholders for her strategic acumen, client focus and ability to drive business performance."
The Split-Authority Year
The complication in her first year as CEO was structural. Cecere, her predecessor, did not leave - he stayed above her as executive chairman, an arrangement that put the former chief executive at the head of the board table while she ran the company. Kedia has been publicly gracious about it: "I am deeply honored to be trusted to lead this iconic company," she said when the succession was announced, crediting Cecere for his leadership and stewardship.
That arrangement ends in April. The board did not recruit an outside chair or elevate its lead independent director; it consolidated both roles in Kedia. Hernandez framed the decision plainly: "The Board of Directors has tremendous confidence in her ability to execute and lead the Board and the company into a dynamic future."
The Consolidation
Kedia's own framing of what comes next is about performance, not position. "Our team will join me in delivering differentiated client experiences, continuing our legacy of governance and stewardship, driving industry-leading performance, and creating value for the many shareholders who invest in us," she said in the announcement. And her reading of the franchise she now chairs: "U.S. Bancorp is a respected and admired franchise, and our company is poised for success for generations to come."
The structure is now the simplest it can be: one leader, accountable for both the company and the board that oversees it. Whatever U.S. Bancorp does from April forward, there will be no question whose plan it was.