Success stories from our world
Success Stories
John Stumpf ’76
Ready to reach the next stage
A farm kid from Pierz, Minn., John Stumpf credits SCSU with exposing him to the beauty of a diverse community. |
Wells Fargo president and CEO John Stumpf ’76 credits family, friends and mentors for his success. Industry obeservers cite the Pierz, Minn. native's skill at crafting billion-dollar deals.
BusinessWeek magazine named Stumpf one of the Best Managers of 2008, an honor given to just 12 American business executives. The 80-year-old weekly pointed to Stumpf's $15 billion acquisition of Wachovia as one of the moves that has turned Wells Fargo into a "bicoastal banking powerhouse." The San Francisco-based firm is the nation's fourth-largest bank with 11,000 locations and $1.31 trillion in assets.
Stumpf is hailed as one of the few banking executives to avoid the sub-prime mortgage mess that has dragged down American banks. Listen to his June 2008 interview with Kai Ryssdal of public radio's Marketplace radio show. Among his career accomplishments, Stumpf led the former Norwest Corporation's acquisition of 30 Texas banks and headed up Well Fargo's acquisition of the $23 billion First Security Corporation.
Stumpf was born and raised on a Minnesota farm. His drive to the top took shape at St. Cloud State University, where he earned a degree in finance.
In October 2007, Stumpf returned to his alma mater to deliver a public address and speak privately to two groups of business students. Explore a podcast and photo slide show from the visit. View a St. Cloud Times profile of Stumpf. View the University Chronicle story about his visit.
Wells Fargo Chairman Dick Kovacevich speaks highly of Stumpf: "We firmly believe there's no other leader, anywhere in financial services, better equipped to lead Wells Fargo to the next stage of success in satisfying all our customers' financial needs and in achieving our goal of industry-leading, double-digit growth in revenue and earnings per share."
