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Discover Financial Services CEO Roger Hochschild has stepped down, the card issuer said Monday.
On Sunday, Hochschild, also president of the company and a member of the board, submitted his resignation to Discover’s board, effective Monday, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Board member John B. Owen has been appointed interim CEO and president of the Riverwoods, Illinois-based company, as well as interim president of the bank. Owen will continue serving on the board, but is resigning from the board’s risk oversight committee during his time in the interim roles.
Hochschild will continue to be employed by the company as an adviser to the chairman of the board through Dec. 31, according to the filing. The board has formed a special search committee to find Hochschild’s successor.
“The Board and Roger have agreed that now is the right time to transition leadership, and we thank Roger for his 25 years of service to the Company,” Discover’s board chairman, Tom Maheras, said in a press release regarding Hochschild’s departure. “The Board is continuously focused on Discover reaching its full potential across the business, including our commitment to enhancing compliance, risk management and corporate governance.”
The company didn’t provide any further explanation for the sudden CEO exit. While Hochschild will be paid his salary through the end of the year, he will exit without receiving severance and he won’t be eligible for certain additional incentive and equity compensation, the filing said.
Owen, who has about 38 years of experience in banking and IT, was elected to the board in June 2022, according to the filing. From 2018 to 2021, he was chief operating officer at Regions Financial Corp.
J. Michael Shepherd was appointed to Discover’s board, effective immediately, and will serve on the board’s risk oversight committee, the filing said. Shepherd is an attorney and former BancWest CEO, according to a news release.
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