good morning. For Zachary Wasserman, the role of CFO at Huntington Bancshares Inc. has expanded far beyond the balance sheet. He is also an AI strategist.
“I actually lead the company’s AI efforts,” Wasserman told me. “It’s an area of personal passion for me.”
That passion is leading to rapid change. As of the fourth quarter of 2022, Huntington only had two AI agents running separate programs internally. Currently, 50 are in production, more than 60 are in development, and about 15 new ones enter the pipeline every month. Wasserman says this acceleration is intentional and fundamental.
“This is a dramatic acceleration of process transformation for agents, which is critical, including for my finance team,” he said. This includes data management that supports SEC reporting, tax filings, and more than 200 regulatory reports per year, resulting in broader productivity gains.
Huntington, No. 351 on the Fortune 500, is a $285 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, with more than 1,400 branches in 21 states. There is a big focus on upskilling colleagues, and a cultural shift is underway where employees move beyond simple AI use. “We’re starting to use it like a thought partner,” he said. It supports complex decision making, software development, and even customer-facing products and services.
To manage this, Wasserman built a federation model. This is a central team that sets strategy and handles advanced applications, combined with resources embedded in each business segment. Over the past year and a half, Huntington has launched 13 teams focused on distinct parts of the business to drive data analytics and AI use cases.
“Our philosophy is that this is fundamentally transformative, so basically every part of the company needs to start implementing this at pace and scale,” he said.
A recent report shows that companies can unlock more value when CFOs oversee AI projects and score results.
The three forces behind the quarter
While Wasserman builds Huntington’s AI infrastructure, the bank on Thursday reported strong first-quarter results.
Adjusted EPS of $0.37 beat expectations, but the reported EPS of $0.25 reflects pre-tax acquisition-related charges of $271 million. Net interest income increased approximately 33% year-over-year, net interest margin reached 3.24%, and average loans and deposits increased approximately 18-19% sequentially.
Mr. Wasserman attributed this performance to three factors: the strength of our core commercial and consumer banking businesses, continued benefits from geographic and vertical expansion, including seven new branches in the Carolinas, and the integration of two partnerships.
Texas-based Veritex, acquired in the fourth quarter, was fully converted in January, and Cadence Bank closed on February 1st. Veritex’s early performance has been strong, with the division’s deposit growth rate increasing by 30% year over year in the first quarter of 2026.
Looking broadly at the industry, Wasserman expressed cautious optimism. “Despite all the environmental factors going on right now, the banking industry looks poised for a very good year,” he said.
Have a nice weekend.
Cheryl estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
leader board
Fortune 500 power moves:
derek andersen He was appointed CFO (No. 312) of Expedia Group Inc., effective May 11. He replaces Scott Schenkel, who is stepping down from the position after 16 months. Mr. Schenkel will remain in his position until Expedia Group’s first quarter results are announced on May 7th, and will leave the company on May 16th.
Prior to joining Expedia Group, Mr. Andersen served as CFO of Snap Inc. and previously served as Snap’s Vice President of Finance. Prior to joining Snap, he held various financial management roles at Amazon.com Inc., including vice president of finance supporting Amazon’s digital video business. He also held senior positions at Fox Interactive Media, including IGN’s Senior Vice President of Finance and Business Operations.
Every Friday morning, we track executives’ shifts at Fortune 500 companies in our weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column.See latest version.
Here are some notable developments this week:
doug hot He was promoted to CFO of Snapchat’s parent company, Snap. Mr. Hott will succeed Derek Andersen, who has held the position for seven years and is retiring on May 8 to take up the CFO role at Expedia Group. Mr. Hott has served as the company’s vice president of finance, strategy and corporate development.
Anna Maria Pellegrino Appointed CFO of Montway Auto Transport. Pellegrino has over 15 years of experience. She most recently served as SVP of FP&A and Corporate Development at PLZ Corp. Pellegrino has integrated 13 acquisitions during his career.
Jonathan H. Baksht has been named SVP and CFO of Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK), a global manufacturer. Baksht will replace Stephen Bender, who will retire by the end of the year, and will transition to the role of special advisor to the president on June 15. Mr. Baksht most recently served as EVP and CFO of Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc. Prior to that, he served as CFO of Pactiv Evergreen Inc. (now Novolex).
john martin Appointed CFO of Goosehead Insurance, Inc. (Nasdaq: GSHD). Martin most recently served as CFO for a private equity-backed e-commerce platform. He began his career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and has held public equity and private equity investment roles at Highbridge Capital Management and Providence Equity Partners. Martin succeeds Mark Jones Jr., who has been promoted to president and chief operating officer.
Simon Minyoung Tan He was promoted to CFO of Bitcoin mining company Cango Inc. (NYSE:CANG) on April 22nd. He most recently served as the company’s chief investment officer, replacing Yongyi Zhang, who resigned for personal reasons.
big deal
This week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officially launched Phase 1 of its Consolidated Control and Entry Processing (CAPE) capabilities. The automated system will give U.S. importers access to $166 billion collected from tariffs paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional.
“Importers who are diligent and submit CAPE returns quickly, backed by accurate data, can potentially receive cash refunds in as little as 60 to 90 days,” said Luis “Lou” Abad, Principal, Washington National Tax at KPMG US. While the government retains the right to appeal a CIT order on IEEPA refunds, “in our view, the appeal risk is likely to affect entries that are currently outside of Phase 1 of the CAPE refund process, particularly those further within 80 days of liquidation, and the path for re-liquidation has not yet been determined,” Abad said.
His advice: “CFOs don’t have to choose between prudence and action. They can be proactive about using technology and robust data validation to support accurate CAPE filings and recover all eligible amounts, while being mindful of the steps currently available to secure refunds. In this environment, the real risk is often not in over-preparing, but in not taking action when the opportunity arises.”
even deeper
here are four luck Weekend articles:
”Tesla shares plunge on news that auto-related profits were almost zero in the first quarter, and the company plans to spend $25 billion on capital expenditures anyway“–Sean Tully
”Federal authorities indict U.S. Army soldier who made $400,000 in polymarket bets related to Maduro capture“–Jeff John Roberts
”Intel CEO Lip Buu Tan crushes Wall Street targets on his first anniversary: We’re embracing our ‘paranoid’ roots“–Alexei Oreskovich
”Spotify just turned 20 years old. Learn how founder Daniel Ek built Spotify into a $100 billion music empire despite being the “least powerful person” in the company.” —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
overheard
“When a financial advisor asks someone in their 60s, ‘Are you looking forward to finishing your career and retiring?’ they may be asking the wrong question. A better question might be, ‘What is your new dream?'”
—Ken Dychtwald Ph.D. writes: luck Opinion article. Dichtwald has spent more than 50 years in the fields of psychology and gerontology. He is the CEO of Age Wave and the author of 19 books.
