Charles W. Scharf — Board Member Accountability Profile
Category: Private Citizen — Corporate Director Role: Independent Director, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Board Tenure: 2014 – present Committee Memberships: Compensation Committee; Governance and Nominating Committee Profile Type: Board Member Accountability — Anchor B (Documented Organizational Leadership)
Basis for Inclusion: Charles W. Scharf holds a documented governance role as an independent director of Microsoft Corporation, which made documented political donations to Trump-aligned entities while the corporation faced regulatory and policy decisions directly affecting its financial interests. Scharf’s concurrent role as CEO of Wells Fargo — a systemically important financial institution subject to ongoing federal regulatory oversight — creates a governance profile of notable public significance. This profile documents the factual governance relationship, not the subject’s personal political views.
Subject Classification: Private Citizen / Corporate Director. Board membership is a matter of public record (SEC filings, proxy statements). This profile documents only the governance role and its connection to documented corporate political activity.
What is NOT the basis for inclusion: Scharf’s personal political opinions, party affiliation, public statements, or any protected speech are NOT the basis for inclusion. The basis is solely the documented directorial role and its fiduciary connection to corporate political spending documented in the parent corporate donor profile.
Biographical Overview
Charles W. Scharf is President, CEO, and a director of Wells Fargo & Company, the fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets, a position he has held since October 2019. He was brought in to lead Wells Fargo’s regulatory and cultural rehabilitation following its fake accounts scandal. Before Wells Fargo, Scharf was CEO of BNY Mellon and before that CEO of Visa Inc. (2012–2016). He also held senior roles at JPMorgan Chase, including in the retail banking and card businesses, and at Bank One under Jamie Dimon.
Scharf’s concurrent role as CEO of Wells Fargo — a bank that itself faces extensive federal regulatory oversight from the OCC, the CFPB, the Fed, and other agencies whose leadership and enforcement priorities are directly shaped by the Trump administration — creates a notable nexus between his Microsoft board seat and the broader regulatory environment affecting major financial institutions.
He holds a B.S. in Economics from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Board Role and Governance Authority
- Company: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
- Board tenure: 2014 – present
- Committee assignments: Compensation Committee; Governance and Nominating Committee
- Day job: President, CEO & Director, Wells Fargo & Company
Other Current Board Memberships
- Director, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) — in executive capacity as CEO
Parent Corporate Donor Profile
This profile is a governance-accountability companion to the Microsoft — Corporate Donor Profile, which documents the corporation’s political spending, pending government business, and favorable outcomes under the Trump administration.
Factual correction requests: If you believe information in this profile is incorrect, please contact factcheck@patriot.university with your name (optional), the specific claim, and any supporting documentation. We review all submissions and correct verified errors promptly.
Investigative trail pointers (public records)
Education only — verify independently. Absence of hits is not proof.
| Channel | Starting points |
|---|---|
| Federal courts | CourtListener / PACER party and attorney searches (spelling variants) |
| Campaign finance | FEC + OpenSecrets for committees and donors tied to documented roles |
| Corporate / LLC | State secretary of state; OpenCorporates for cross-border shells from reporting |
| Sanctions / PEP | OpenSanctions when international business context is already sourced |
| Contracts / grants | USAspending.gov for named entities from investigations |
Use public-records-research-specialist, corporate-intelligence-investigator, and public-corruption-ombudsman evidence tiers.
Sources
- Microsoft Corporation DEF 14A Proxy Statement, filed October 21, 2025 (annual meeting December 5, 2025)
- SEC EDGAR filing: Microsoft Corporation (CIK 789019)
