About William Daley

William Michael Daley  is an American lawyer, politician and former banker who served as the 24th White House Chief of Staff from January 2011 to January 2012, under President Barack Obama. Prior to this, he served as the 32nd U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1997 to 2000, under President Bill Clinton. He has also served on the executive committee of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Daley was a candidate for Governor of Illinois in the 2014 gubernatorial election, until dropping out of the race on September 16, 2013. He ran in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election but came in third in the first-round voting, and did not advance to the runoff. He served as the Vice Chairman of BNY Mellon from June through October 2019. From 2019 to 2023, Daley served as the Vice Chairman of Public Affairs for Wells Fargo. William Daley was born in Chicago, the seventh and youngest child of the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and Eleanor "Sis" Daley. He is the brother of former Illinois legislator John P. Daley and former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley. He graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in 1966, with a B.A. degree from Loyola University Chicago, and a J.D. degree from John Marshall Law School. Daley later accepted an honorary Doctor of Law degree from John Marshall Law School. Except for a period from 1977 to 1980, during which time he sat on the Advisory Council of Economic Opportunity, he practiced law privately with the firm Daley and George. William Daley became associated with Amalgamated Bank of Chicago, where he was first vice chairman (1989–1990) and then president and chief operating officer (1990–1993). Daley returned to the practice of law, as a partner with the firm Mayer, Brown & Platt from 1993 to 1997. Daley was appointed to the board of Fannie Mae in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, serving until 1997. William Daley was U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1997 to 2000. Among other things, Secretary Daley helped usher in the age of E-commerce, ran the 2000 census, expanded minority business development programs, and oversaw a wide range of economic initiatives during one of the strongest economic periods in American history, adding an estimated 23 million jobs. Daley stepped down to run Al Gore's campaign for president in 2000. In December 2001, William Daley was appointed to a newly created position as President of SBC Communications to help reform the company's image. In May 2004, Daley was appointed Midwest Chairman of JPMorgan Chase, following its acquisition of Bank One Corporation. In 2007, Daley was appointed as head of the Corporate Responsibility program, a position he held until 2010. Daley formerly served on the Board of Directors of Boeing, Merck & Co., Boston Properties, and Loyola University Chicago. William Daley is currently a trustee of Northwestern University and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2010, he received the Chicago History Museum "Making History Award" for Distinction in Civic Leadership. In 2014, he joined Argentiere Capital as a managing partner. On November 7, 2019, it was announced that Daley had been appointed to serve as head of Public Affairs at Wells Fargo effective November 13, 2019, and will also serve as one of the company's Vice Chairman. His appointment went into effect as scheduled.