Steel stepped down as Treasury undersecretary three weeks ago to take the helm from CEO G. Kennedy Thompson, who was booted out by the board in June.
The latest executives to leave are chief risk officer Donald Truslow and CFO Thomas J. Wurtz, who both plan to retire once successors are named. Both announced their departures after Wachovia reported last month a second-quarter net loss of $8.9 billion and a $6.1 billion write-down for bad investments related to the mortgage and credit crises.
Its not unusual for a new CEO to bring in fresh faces. Last year, when John Thain took the reins at Merrill Lynch & Co., he brought aboard some familiar faces from his old employers, NYSE Euronext Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Of course, Steel may have a hard time tapping into one of his former employers, Goldman, thanks to Thain's recruiting. However, Steel may have ample opportunity to tap into the Treasury Department staff after Jan. 20. - Maria Woehr
Wachovia Corp. is making a lot of executive changes as new CEO Robert K. Steel builds his team to turnaround the troubled bank. 
