William E.B. Siart

William E.B. Siart founded ExED in 1998, following his candidacy for Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Mr. Siart is the former chairman and chief executive officer of First Interstate Bancorp (now under Wells Fargo), which at the time was a $60 billion banking company with over 40,000 employees in 13 western states. A nationally recognized business leader, he has been selected “Business Person of the Year” by Business Week and continues to be a well-regarded civic leader in Los Angeles deeply devoted to education reform. Prior to ExED’s incorporation as a nonprofit, Mr. Siart funded a staff to thoroughly research the revenue and expense structure of public schools and best practices in education.

Mr. Siart is active in many community organizations. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Southern California, The J. Paul Getty Trust, and Camino Nuevo Charter Academy. Mr. Siart earned an M.B.A. in finance from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Santa Clara University.