Promotion puts Cecere in line to be U.S. Bank's next CEO

Andrew Cecere will be U.S. Bancorp's first chief operating officer since current CEO Richard Davis held the position, a decision that cements Cecere's place as next in line to run the nation's fifth-largest bank.

Cecere, 54, will now be responsible for all the bank's key businesses, including consumer and small-business banking, wholesale banking, commercial real estate, payment services and wealth management. He will report to Davis.

Cecere has been with U.S. Bank since 1985 and has been chief financial officer under Davis since 2007.

"I think of it as a cross-training to possibly be Richard's successor," said Dan Werner, an analyst at Morningstar. "It's really an effort to deepen his skill set."

Cecere was chief financial officer in the old U.S. Bank before it was acquired by Firstar and taken over in 2001 by Jerry Grundhofer and Davis. When the two large regional banks merged, Cecere was an executive for the acquired bank, and put in charge of trust and private banking.

Davis was named president and chief operating officer in 2004, two years before he took over as top executive at the company. A year after he became CEO, he returned Cecere to the position of CFO.

"He is as strong a CFO as we have ever seen, and the company has been well-served with him as one of its public faces," analyst Scott Siefers, of Sandler O'Neill, wrote in a note to investors. "While there was never much doubt as to his significant status within the company, the announcement seems to cement his role as the No. 2 behind CEO Richard Davis."

Cecere earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and finance from the University of St. Thomas and his MBA from the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota.

"We are confident in his ability to manage our businesses effectively and execute our customer-focused growth strategy," Davis, 56, said in a statement. "One of U.S. Bank's core strengths is our continuity of executive leadership, which has been established through a carefully managed and time-tested process. Moving Andy into the COO role is an example of that thoughtful and deliberate process."

Kathy Ashcraft Rogers, an executive vice president, will succeed Cecere as vice chair and chief financial officer. She has worked at U.S. Bank for 28 years. She will report to Davis and join the managing committee, which consists of the 14 most senior leaders at the company.

Kate Quinn, executive vice president of strategy and corporate affairs, also has been promoted and will join the managing committee and report to Davis.

"We are fortunate to have talented leaders, such as Kathy and Kate, to promote from within and join our managing committee," Davis said in his statement. "They will play critical roles as we execute on our vision for the future of U.S. Bank."

Rogers has been with U.S. Bank since 1987. Since 1988, she has been responsible for business line planning and reporting, including the stress testing process for U.S. Bank with the Federal Reserve Board. She is a graduate of Ohio State University.

Quinn joined U.S. Bank in September 2013 and is responsible for strategy, marketing, government relations, customer experience, analytics, corporate communications, community affairs and the U.S. Bank Foundation.

U.S. Bank will announce its year-end 2014 profits on Wednesday. Stock in the company fell 31 cents Tuesday to close at $41.21 per share.

Adam Belz • 612-673-4405 Twitter: @adambelz