Bank of America Names New Retail Exec

Bank of America named Barbara J. Desoer as chief technology, service and fulfillment executive. By combining oversight of technology, operations and fulfillment under one individual, Bank of America has demonstrated the growing relevance of technology expertise to banking. "The idea is that you can better develop strategies and implement them when you've got all of that reporting to one person," says Bob Stickler, a spokesman for BofA.

Previously, as consumer products executive, Desoer was involved in several strategic projects that pushed new technology-enabled capabilities to the customer. "She's uniquely placed to look to use technology as an enabler, and to look to bring a business perspective from her role in running consumer products for the past couple of years here," Stickler adds.

In addition to her former responsibility for ATMs, call centers, consumer risk operations and BofA's business in Latin America, Desoer will also lead the company in the development and deployment of a comprehensive payments strategy.