U.S. TRUST x BANK OF AMERICA
Repositioning a legacy brand for the future of wealth management.
U.S. TRUST Bank of America Private Wealth Management campaign print ad for the "Wealth Management for Today’s Wealth" launch. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/business/media/03adco.html
ç Managed $30M budget and repositioned the brand for long-term growth across private wealth, trust, and philanthropic services.
Overview
As SVP, Global Head of Branding, I led the repositioning of U.S. Trust from a legacy wealth firm to an acquisition-ready brand, resulting in a $3.3B deal with Bank of America. Post-acquisition, I was retained to lead the global integration, rebranding, and relaunch of BofA’s newly expanded $2.5T wealth platform.
Pre-Merger
U.S. Trust had long been a name with prestige, but by the mid-2000s, it was lagging behind. I was brought in to reposition the business for future growth under the parent company Charles Schwab and Peter Scaturro, the newly appointed CEO. We reinvigorated the brand around a new investment-led focus to complement the existing values-driven service, launched "The Green Papers" thought leadership platform, and shifted the narrative around wealth to reflect a more modern, action-oriented audience.
The strategy worked: U.S. Trust was acquired by Bank of America for $3.3B.
U.S. Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management: “Library”
Post-merger
After an exhaustive and thorough best best practices exercise to identify how best to restructure the business into the existing BoA landscape, I was retained to lead the full integration of U.S. Trust into Bank of America’s newly expanded Global Wealth & Investment Management division (GWIM). I partnered with Six Sigma teams on due diligence, restructured the brand architecture, and led the development of the "Wealth Management for Today’s Wealth" platform. We launched with a $30M campaign, a redesigned identity system, and a new website, rolling it out across all global GWIM divisions.
U.S. Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management: “Bus”
GWIM for the Win
Managing a global team of 24, I helped bridge two vastly different cultures: U.S. Trust’s bespoke, relationship-first DNA and Bank of America’s scale-driven, process-heavy infrastructure. That alignment required not just clarity of message, but precision of execution. In addition to the new U.S. Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management, I also led brand marketing for the other businesses within GWIM from Retirement Solutions, Mutual Funds and Bank of America’s Private Bank.
This was one of the most sophisticated and high-stakes roles I’d taken on, and one of the most formative. I was one of the youngest senior leaders at the table, navigating global leadership and fast-changing internal dynamics during a massive financial merger. It sharpened my ability to lead, communicate, and execute with clarity at scale.
Takeaway
Transforming U.S. Trust reinforced that real brand power starts with clarity of purpose and scales through disciplined, consistent delivery. We didn’t just refresh a brand. We reframed its future and built the systems to bring it to life inside one of the largest financial institutions in the world.