Bettinger to be Schwab President

Charles Schwab Corp. has tapped Walt Bettinger II, head of its investor services unit, as president and chief operating officer.

A Reuters news report said the promotion makes him a potential successor to the discount brokerage’s founder and CEO, Charles Schwab, 69, also the company’s chairman.

According to the report, the promotion comes after Chief Financial Officer Christopher Dodds announced his planned retirement in January, who had been seen as a potential successor for Schwab.

Still, Bettinger’s promotion “creates a second in command,” spokesman Greg Gable told Reuters, and helps fill the vacuum created by Dodds’ planned departure.

Bettinger, 46, “does take on some of the responsibilities that Dodds had across the entire businesses,” Gable said.

Bettinger will oversee the company’s operating businesses, including its investor services, institutional and corporate and retirement, as well as mutual funds, banking technology and operations, the report said.

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