Bank of America names Chip McLeod president of Upstate South Carolina

Bank of America has named Chip McLeod president of Upstate South Carolina, a market leadership position intended to coordinate the firm’s local efforts across wealth management and other business lines. The announcement comes as McLeod replaces Stacy Brandon, who led the Upstate market for more than 10 years before retiring from the company after 39 years of service, according to a Bank of America statement distributed through PR Newswire.

In his new role, McLeod will serve as president and head of the market for Upstate South Carolina, which Bank of America defined as covering Anderson, Greenville, Laurens, Pickens and Spartanburg counties. The company said he will connect clients, teammates and communities to what it called the “full power of the franchise,” and will work to deepen and expand local relationships to grow market share in the region.

McLeod’s move reflects a shift from Merrill Lynch Wealth Management to broader market leadership within Bank of America. PR Newswire said McLeod currently serves as a senior resident director at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, where he has more than three decades of experience in wealth management and financial services. The release said he joined Merrill in 2007 and leads its work in Spartanburg, overseeing 14 associates.

Bank of America tied McLeod’s appointment to its stated “responsible growth strategy,” with CEO Brian Moynihan saying in the release that McLeod’s leadership would help the bank deepen relationships with clients, the community and teammates while extending market share in the Upstate. The statement also thanked Brandon for her long tenure and service.

The release included a set of local “market facts” that framed the Upstate effort as both a client-growth and community-engagement initiative. It said the firm has 270 local Bank of America and Merrill employees working from 20 locations supporting clients, and that since 2020 it has invested $3.8 million in philanthropic funding across Upstate organizations. It also said those employees have volunteered more than 26,000 hours since 2020, and that Bank of America has extended $67.8 million in small-business loans and $643 million in commercial loans in the region.

Bank of America’s regional leadership transitions are typically watched less for immediate financial impact and more for continuity in client coverage, hiring and local strategy execution, particularly in wealth management where advisor leadership and coverage models can be localized. Even so, the company did not disclose any specific operating changes tied to McLeod’s appointment beyond its general focus on relationship growth, collaboration across “eight lines of business,” and local expansion in the Upstate.

The announcement did not specify when McLeod’s presidency begins, whether it will involve any changes to existing market leadership roles, or any performance targets tied to the appointment. It also did not detail why McLeod was chosen over other internal candidates, beyond citing his experience in wealth management and community involvement in South Carolina. For now, the firm’s disclosure is primarily biographical and strategic rather than operational.