# Jonathan Witter

> Jonathan Witter is chief executive officer and a director of Sallie Mae, which he joined in April 2020 after leading customer functions at Hilton and retail banking at Capital One. His career spans banking operations, distribution and customer experience; his public account of his immigrant father’s education connects his current work to a family history of scholarships, work-study and economic opportunity.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Sallie Mae
- **Organizations:** Sallie Mae, Sallie Mae Bank, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Capital One, Morgan Stanley, Wachovia, McKinsey & Company, Deloitte & Touche
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in economics; magna cum laude, Vanderbilt University, MBA in finance and entrepreneurial management; Palmer Scholar, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt and as a Palmer Scholar from Wharton., Appointed Hilton’s first chief customer officer in a newly created role in 2017., Led Sallie Mae during its acquisitions of Nitro College assets in 2022 and key Scholly assets in 2023.

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Worked in consulting at McKinsey & Company and Deloitte & Touche.
- **2004–2009** — Executive Vice President and Head of General Bank Distribution at Wachovia.
- **2009–2010** — Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Stanley’s Retail Banking Group and President of Morgan Stanley Private Bank.
- **2010–2011** — Joined Capital One in December 2010 as Executive Vice President, Retail Banking.
- **2011–2012** — President, Retail and Small Business Banking at Capital One, beginning September 2011.
- **2012–2017** — President, Retail and Direct Banking at Capital One from February 2012 to March 2017.
- **2017–2020** — Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at Hilton Worldwide Holdings.
- **2020–present** — Became CEO and director of Sallie Mae effective April 20, 2020.

## Achievements

- Graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt and as a Palmer Scholar from Wharton.
- Appointed Hilton’s first chief customer officer in a newly created role in 2017.
- Led Sallie Mae during its acquisitions of Nitro College assets in 2022 and key Scholly assets in 2023.
- Announced a multi-year private education lending partnership with KKR in November 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Sallie Mae reported Q3 2026 originations of $3.4 billion, 15% growth year over year, a GAAP loss of $0.19 per common share, and reduced full-year earnings guidance on October 22.
- **2026-04** — Peter Graham and Kerri Palmer were named co-presidents reporting to Witter; he remained CEO.
- **2025-11** — Sallie Mae announced a partnership under which KKR expects to buy at least $2 billion of newly originated loans annually over an initial three-year term, following an initial seed portfolio.

## Links

- Website: https://www.salliemae.com/about/leadership/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-witter-3763a131/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jonathan-witter
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23