To meet growing demand for financial services from local middle-market and mid-corporate companies, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) named three company veterans to lead Commercial Banking throughout Southern California. Together, the new division managers – Samantha Jones, Steve Sloan, and Stender Sweeney – combine for more than 70 years of financial services experience.

“The appointment of these seasoned, senior-level bankers reinforces our ongoing commitment to growing our Southern California client base,” said John C. Adams, head of Commercial Banking for the Western Region. “These bankers bring together specialized Commercial Banking teams and offer an integrated approach that shares resources to better serve our Southern California clients.”

The appointments follow the promotion of John Manning, longtime head of Commercial Banking in Los Angeles, who now leads the group’s growth in the East. Adams, who had led Commercial Banking in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, is now responsible for the Western U.S., including Southern California. His new leadership team oversees a diverse portfolio across Southern California – the 15th-largest global economy.

Natives of California, each leader has Southern California roots extending over three generations. Wells Fargo has named each as an executive vice president:

Samantha Jones brings 20 years of financial services experience to her new role as Commercial Banking division manager for Orange County and San Diego. She leads a team of more than 70 Commercial Banking professionals based in Orange County North (Anaheim) and South (Irvine), and San Diego North (Carlsbad) and South (downtown San Diego).

Previously, Jones served as Commercial Banking region head in San Diego and as regional manager in West Los Angeles. She earned her bachelor’s degree in economics at Spelman College in Atlanta. She also holds an MBA in finance and real estate from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Jones serves on the board of the Greater San Diego YMCA and the San Diego Division of the American Heart Association.

Steve Sloan now serves as Commercial Banking division manager for the Southern California Coastal region, which encompasses Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. He leads a team of bankers who are based in downtown Los Angeles, Century City, Woodland Hills, and in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Sloan joined Wells Fargo in 2011 as regional vice president of the Los Angeles Central Regional Commercial Banking Office and has more than 30 years of financial services experience. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is immediate past president of Temple Israel of Hollywood, and he also serves on the boards of Jewish Vocational Service and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

Stender Sweeney was named division manager for Wells Fargo’s Los Angeles Metro Commercial Banking division. He now manages a 70-member team that covers Greater Los Angeles Metro, Los Angeles North (Downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena), South (Long Beach) and East (West Covina).

With more than 19 years of financial services experience, Sweeney joined Wells Fargo from Wachovia Bank where he was a director of the Western Banking Group. Sweeney earned his B.A. in political science from Northwestern University and his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Sweeney is chairman of the 1932 Club in support of the EXPO Center Los Angeles and serves as board member for the L.A. Sports & Entertainment Commission, the Central City Association of Los Angeles, and the Undergraduate Advisory Board for the Marshall School of Business at USC.

About Wells Fargo Commercial Banking

With more than 140 offices in 38 states and three Canadian provinces, Wells Fargo Commercial Banking provides local support for businesses with annual sales generally in excess of $20 million. Experienced relationship managers and lending managers live and work where our customers do business – places like Los Angeles, Irvine, and San Diego. Commercial Banking services – including asset-based lending, traditional secured loans, and capital markets – provide access to working capital for day-to-day operations and funding for growth. Commercial Banking also provides expertise and services for specific industries, including beverage, food and agribusiness, technology, health care, government, higher education, clean technology, and environmental services.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.7 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,700 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s 2014 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.