Lea Souther is the Head of Consumer Business Continuity and Business Optimization for the Consumer, Retail and Preferred businesses, two of Bank of America’s eight lines of business. She is responsible for the COO functions for the President of Consumer, Retail and Preferred Banking along with leading cross-functional teams to design and execute comprehensive business continuity plans, ensuring rapid recovery and minimal impact during unforeseen events. Additionally, she is responsible for identifying and implementing strategy and process improvements to drive growth, efficiency and transformation tied to real estate, community banking and third-party vendor relationships.

Souther joined Bank of America in 1992 as a teller and has had an extensive career in the consumer bank holding various region and division positions encompassing, growth, client care, strategy, digital, operations and business enablement. She spent two years in the global technology organization supporting consumer technology and global enterprise functions.

Souther is a member of the Enterprise Response Team and the executive sponsor of the Retail Banking Employee Engagement and Inclusion Council. She is active in enterprise-wide efforts promoting employee development and invests in numerous mentoring and sponsor opportunities.