ABD chief steps down after merger plans revealed

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--Dan R. Francis, president and chief executive officer of ABD Insurance & Financial Services, resigned from the brokerage Monday shortly after parent Greater Bay Bancorp said it would be acquired by Wells Fargo & Co., an ABD spokesman said.

Mr. Francis was named president and CEO of the Redwood City, Calif.-based brokerage in December 2005.

Frederick de Grosz and Bruce Basso, co-chairmen of ABD, will assume executive leadership "in what is expected to be a very seamless transition," the spokesman said.

Wells Fargo said last Friday that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire ABD's parent, East Palo Alto, Calif.-based Greater Bay, in an all-stock deal valued at about $1.5 billion.

As part of the deal, ABD would be combined with Wells Fargo's existing insurance brokerage operation Wells Fargo Insurance Inc., the world's fifth-largest insurance brokerage, according to Business Insurance's ranking.