Anthony Meola
WESTERN ALLIANCE BANCORPORATIONAbout Anthony T. Meola
Founder and Principal of West Coast Advisory, LLC; age 68; independent director at Western Alliance Bancorporation since 2023; B.S. in Accounting from Rutgers University. He is a financial services executive with 30+ years in business strategy transformation, operations, AML, and mortgage servicing across Bank of America, Washington Mutual, PNC, Citibank, Morgan Stanley, and Saxon Mortgage Services .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America | Enterprise Shared Services Executive (global AML ops); U.S. Consumer Operations Executive | 2011–2018 | Led global AML operations across Consumer Banking, Markets and Business Banking; oversaw collections, fraud, product delivery, customer service, mortgage servicing . |
| Morgan Stanley | Chief Operating Officer – U.S. Residential Business | 2007–2008 | Led U.S. residential mortgage business operations . |
| Saxon Mortgage Services | Chief Executive Officer | 2008–2011 | Led strategy for U.S. residential mortgage business prior to sale . |
| New Century Financial | Executive Vice President, Home Lending | 2006–2007 | Senior leadership in home lending . |
| Washington Mutual | EVP Service Delivery; EVP Loan Servicing; EVP Home Lending | 2000–2006 | Operations, servicing, and home lending leadership . |
| PNC Bank | EVP Production; SVP National Operations & Technology | 1994–1999 | National operations and technology leadership . |
| Citicorp Mortgage Inc. | SVP Mortgage Operations; Chief Financial Officer | 1986–1994 | Finance and operations leadership in mortgage . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast Advisory, LLC | Founder & Principal | 2019–present | Advisory services and executive coaching firm . |
| Freddie Mac; Fannie Mae | Advisory boards | Not specified | Served on several advisory boards . |
| Housing Policy Roundtable; Five Star Institute | Advisory/industry bodies | Not specified | Industry engagement . |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Finance & Investment Committee; Risk Committee; no chair roles disclosed .
- Independence: Listed as independent director; both Finance & Investment and Risk Committees noted as all independent (Finance & Investment “all independent except for Mr. Vecchione”; Risk “ALL INDEPENDENT”) .
- Attendance and engagement: In 2024, Board held 9 meetings; each current director attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings; five executive sessions of independent directors were held, presided by Board Chair Bruce Beach .
- Board scale and refresh: Board fixed at 13 directors; Meola nominated for re‑election for one‑year term .
- Cyber/risk oversight: Risk Committee maintains ad hoc cyber risk subcommittee; Board/Risk oversee ERM and cybersecurity/information security programs .
Fixed Compensation
| Name (2024) | Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | Stock Awards ($) | All Other Compensation ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony T. Meola | 70,000 | 235,005 | 9,028 | 314,033 |
Director program design (February 2024):
- Annual board retainer: $50,000 .
- Committee service retainers: $20,000 Audit; $10,000 for Compensation, Finance & Investment, Governance, and Risk .
- Committee chair retainers: $10,000 per chair (Audit, Compensation, Finance & Investment, Governance, Risk) .
- Equity: 4,056 shares of restricted stock granted Feb 6, 2024, scheduled to vest Feb 6, 2025; grant date fair value $235,005 .
- Additional Chair of the Board compensation: $80,000 cash retainer and $80,000 restricted stock grant .
Performance Compensation
Directors receive time‑vested restricted stock; no performance‑conditioned PSUs/options for non‑employee directors disclosed. PSU performance metrics apply to NEOs (not directors) and include three‑year comparative ROE with CET1 governor (75%) and relative TSR vs KBW Regional Banking Index (25%) .
| Equity Award (Director) | Grant Date | Shares | Vesting | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted Stock (annual grant) | 2024-02-06 | 4,056 | Scheduled to vest 2025-02-06 | . |
| Restricted Stock (Form 4 award) | 2025-02-06 | 2,594 | Not disclosed | . |
| Restricted Stock (Form 4 award) | 2024-02-06 | 4,056 | Not disclosed (program indicates 1‑yr vest for 2024 grant) | . |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Public company directorships: None disclosed for Meola; biography lists advisory boards and extensive executive roles, but no current public company boards beyond WAL .
- Interlocks: No related-party or interlocking directorships with WAL competitors, suppliers, or customers disclosed .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Business strategy, operations, transformation; AML and consumer operations leadership (Bank of America) .
- Deep mortgage servicing and residential lending leadership (Morgan Stanley, Saxon Mortgage Services, Washington Mutual, New Century, Citicorp Mortgage) .
- Banking/financial services experience with national institutions; board‑ready governance perspective .
- Education: B.S., Accounting, Rutgers University .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned (#) | Percent of Class | As of Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony T. Meola | 10,900 | * (less than 1%) | 2025-04-14 | Per proxy beneficial ownership table. |
| Post‑transaction ownership (Form 4) | 10,683 [Insider Trades: /tmp/insider_trades_20251120_035713.json] | N/A | 2025-02-10 filing (txn 2025-02-06) | Direct ownership (“D”); after 2,594‑share award . |
Stock ownership guidelines:
- Non‑employee directors must hold shares valued at least 5× annual cash compensation; five‑year transition to full compliance; Governance Committee administers; in 2024, each director was in full compliance .
- Hedging and pledging prohibited, with narrow legacy/financial capacity exceptions; pledged shares excluded from required ownership and subject to caps .
Insider trades (Form 3/4 summary):
| Filing Date | Transaction Date | Type | Shares Transacted | Post‑Txn Ownership | Security | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-15 | 2023-06-14 | Form 3 (initial) | 0 | 217 | Common Stock | . |
| 2023-06-20 | 2023-06-15 | A – Award | 4,033 | 4,033 | Common Stock | . |
| 2024-02-08 | 2024-02-06 | A – Award | 4,056 | 8,089 | Common Stock | . |
| 2025-02-10 | 2025-02-06 | A – Award | 2,594 | 10,683 | Common Stock | . |
Governance Assessment
- Committee effectiveness: Meola serves on Finance & Investment and Risk—two committees central to capital/liquidity, ERM, cyber, and compliance oversight—leveraging his AML and mortgage operations background; no chair role noted, reducing concentration of influence while contributing domain expertise .
- Independence and engagement: Independent director; Board and committees recorded strong engagement with minimum 75% attendance for all directors and regular independent executive sessions—supports investor confidence in oversight quality .
- Compensation alignment: Director pay is predominantly equity via restricted stock with modest cash retainers; Meola’s 2024 mix ($235k equity vs $70k cash) aligns incentives with shareholders; equity grants vest on time‑based schedule, avoiding short‑term performance gaming .
- Ownership and policies: Meets stock ownership guidelines; hedging/pledging prohibited, with strict exceptions—positive alignment signals and risk controls .
- Conflicts/related party exposure: Company discloses routine Reg O‑compliant lending to insiders and limited family employment for certain executives; no Meola‑specific related‑party transactions >$120k disclosed—no red flags identified for Meola .
Red flags: None disclosed specific to Meola (no pledging/hedging noted, no related‑party transactions, attendance threshold met) . Signals: Independent risk oversight roles, equity‑heavy director pay, and full ownership guideline compliance support governance quality .