Wells Fargo's new CEO has the right resume: 29 years at the bank, and none of them in its troubled retail unit.  Timothy Sloan, 56, rose through the commercial, corporate and investment banking side of a firm best known as a Main Street lender, helping with deals including the $15.4 billion crisis-era takeover of struggling Wachovia Corp.

Mr. Sloan, took over immediately Wednesday from John Stumpf, who resigned in the wake of the sales scandal and harsh criticism from lawmakers. The bank had been grooming Sloan as Stumpf’s likely successor - promoting him a year ago to president and COO, from head of the bank’s wholesale banking unit and earlier CFO.

Now, he must show he can get a handle on the bank’s sprawling consumer business.  His tasks include fixing a reputation battered by revelations that staff signed customers up for as many as 2 million accounts without their knowledge to meet lofty sales goals. He will also have to navigate a raft of federal and state investigations, including from the Justice Department.

Mr. Sloan said in an interview with The WSJournal that he aims to improve the bank’s reputation by being “very focused” on addressing customers’ concerns, refunding customers for improper charges and ensuring the bank has the right products and services for them.