John Silvia, chief economist for Wells Fargo, will retire as head of the Economics Group at Wells Fargo Securities after 16 years with the company. Silvia, who is based in Charlotte, NC, will remain with the company through July 31. He has held the position of chief economist since he joined Wachovia in 2002.

Under Silvia’s thought leadership, Wells Fargo’s Economics Group has received many awards and accolades, including nine awards from the National Association for Business Economics, an organization he served as president from 2014 to 2015. In addition, he has served as the voice of the Wells Fargo Economics Group with numerous appearances in print, radio and television.

“We celebrate John’s accomplishments, and we are thankful for his leadership during his time as the chief economist of the Wells Fargo Securities Economics Group. John is a strong leader who has always encouraged his team to push their boundaries of thought. He supported each team member to reach his or her full potential,” said Diane Schumaker-Krieg, global head of Research, Economics and Strategy for Wells Fargo Securities.

Most recently, Silvia received a Certificate of Forecasting Excellence by The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago for “Best Ten-Year Treasury Rate Forecast” for 2017. He is also on the Bloomberg Best Forecast list for his forecasts of GDP, ISM manufacturing index, housing starts and the unemployment rate. Under Silvia’s direction, in six of the past eight years, the Wells Fargo Economics Group has had a paper accepted by the American Economic Association.

“It has been a great honor to serve as chief economist of a bank I truly believe in. I am proud of the work we’ve done as a team and thankful Wells Fargo has allowed me to lead such a dynamic group of economists who are dedicated to economic debate and discipline,” Silvia said.

Jay Bryson, Wells Fargo Securities global economist, will serve as interim chief economist at Wells Fargo. Bryson, who is also based in Charlotte, joined the company in 1998. Previously he was an economist in the division of international finance at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. He also served in the economics departments of the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, the University of Alabama, Georgetown University and the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Bryson is a member of the American Economic Association and the Charlotte Economics Club. He is also a member of the National Association for Business Economics and served on its board of directors from 2010 to 2013.