Nate Hurst will join Wells Fargo on June 1 to oversee a newly combined organization that includes Corporate Responsibility, Philanthropy, Community Relations, and Sustainability. He will also serve as president of the Wells Fargo Foundation.
“Nate brings a wealth of corporate citizenship, charitable giving, public affairs, and sustainability experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to Wells Fargo,” said Bill Daley, vice chairman of Public Affairs at Wells Fargo. “We look forward to having Nate continue to advance Wells Fargo’s commitment to addressing the needs of underserved communities, particularly as we work to ensure housing security, small business stability, and consumer financial health in the wake of the COVID pandemic.”
In his new role at Wells Fargo, Hurst will oversee the alignment of Wells Fargo’s sustainability and corporate responsibility efforts with corporate philanthropy and community relations. The combined organization will drive innovation and maximize the positive societal, environmental, and economic impact that Wells Fargo brings to the communities it serves. Under Hurst’s leadership, the company will further integrate sustainability and corporate responsibility into all aspects of its business and explore how to further utilize business expertise to help solve societal problems.
Hurst joins Wells Fargo from HP Inc., where he was chief Sustainability & Social Impact officer responsible for driving HP’s global giving, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility into its core businesses. Hurst led a global team of experts to innovate sustainable solutions in collaboration with customers, partners, governments, and nonprofits. In 2019, HP climbed to No. 1 on Newsweek’s Most Responsible Companies list.
Previously, Hurst served as the director of Sustainability, Public Affairs & Government Relations for Walmart, where he helped integrate sustainability into the business and align the community giving strategy with core customer needs. As a member of The White House Council on Environmental Quality for former U.S. President Bill Clinton, he helped develop the administration’s environmental policy agenda and executed a stakeholder engagement plan on leading issues such as climate change; and as national spokesperson for The Ocean Conservancy, Hurst spearheaded big ideas to reduce ocean plastic and led communications strategies, international coastal cleanups, and community grassroots campaigns.
A strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, Hurst has a proven track record of being inclusive of diverse perspectives. He was an executive ally for HP’s LGBTQ community and has led efforts to advance gender equality programs and ensure access to learning for women and girls. He served on the United Nations’ Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change, and while at HP he championed technology products and external programs that focus on gender equality, education and achievement, youth entrepreneurship, and socially responsible business.
Wells Fargo recently received an “Outstanding” rating from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for its work in addressing underserved communities through the Community Reinvestment Act.
In recent years, Wells Fargo has deepened its commitment to philanthropy in low- to moderate-income communities. In June 2019, the company committed $1 billion in philanthropy alone through 2025 to address the country’s housing affordability crisis. Also in 2019, Wells Fargo invested $455 million through corporate philanthropy and the Wells Fargo Foundation in grants, funding national organizations to deliver programs at scale and nonprofits that specifically address the needs of local markets. In March, the company announced $175 million in aid for COVID-19 relief to help address food, financial health, small business, and housing stability, as well as to provide help to public health organizations.