Wells Fargo’s Kari Bids Adieu

Oh well. Wells Fargo & Co. said CFO Ross Kari resigned to pursue new opportunities. The banking giant said he is exploring options inside and outside the company.

Kari will remain as CFO until a permanent replacement is found.

In a recent press release, Kari said that Wells Fargo’s 1998 merger with Minneapolis-based Norwest, a deal announced one month after he became CFO, prevented him from exploring other career opportunities. And now that the merger is complete, “it’s time to make a career change.”

“Wells Fargo is a great company and I’m privileged to be a part of it, but after much thought I’ve decided my background and interests are much broader than my current role,” Kari said in a statement.

Kari, who joined the company in 1983 as a financial analyst, is considering making a move to a “management position at Wells Fargo Wholesale Bank,” said Richard Kovacevich, president and CEO of Wells Fargo, in a statement.

Wells Fargo said it will consider replacement candidates from inside and outside the firm.

Last rites: Henley Healthcare, Inc. terminated all of its U.S. employees. With them, went CFO James L. Sturgeon, who retired from the Sugarland, Tex.-based maker of pain management products and services. The company said that until it can obtain financing and retain an accounting staff, it does not expect that it will be able to file its annual report on Form 10-K.

Improving diagnosis: The management ranks of Hayward, Calif.- based Cholestech Corp., a provider of healthcare information and diagnostic products and services, is looking healthier now that the company has found a replacement for its VP of finance and CFO, Andrea J. Tiller. Tiller, who joined Cholestech in 1996 and will retire at the end of April to spend more time with family, will be replaced by William W. Burke, who joins Cholestech from Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., where he was a managing director in the firm’s investment banking department.

A Real Gem: Onyx Software Corp., a Bellevue, Wash.-based provider of E-business services, named Brian C. Henry as CFO. Prior to joining Onyx, Henry was EVP and CFO of Lante Corp., a Chicago-based web services company.