Everyone Has A Chance

John Stumpf is the chairman, president and CEO of Wells Fargo & Company. During his early years it would be hard to believe he would be the head of one of the largest banks in the U.S. and the world. It goes to show that everyone has a chance of being successful and success has more to do with what you do with your life than the circumstances you were born in.

For Stumpf his early circumstances were not exactly ideal. He was born in 1953 in Pierz, Minnesota.  He grew up in a dairy and poultry farm as one of 11 children. Stumpf’s father was a dairy farmer. Of simple means, Stumpf shared a bedroom with is brothers until he got married.

School was not a bright spot in his life. He graduated in the bottom half of his high school class. He got a job as a bread maker in a Pierz bakery on account of the fact that his family had limited resources and his bad grades. He was able to enroll in St. Cloud State University on a provisional basis a year later.  Stumpf was able to get a job as a repossession agent at First Bank in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He obtained a bachelor’s degree in finance from St. Cloud State University and his MBA from the University of Minnesota.  In 1982 he joined the former Norwest Corporation (predecessor of Wells Fargo) in the loans department and later became senior vice president and chief credit offer for Norwest Bank, N.A.  Minneapolis.

Stumpf kept moving to higher positions. He was the regional president for Norwest Bank Texas from 1994 to 1998. He headed the bank’s acquisition of 30 Texas banks with assets totaling over $13 billion during his four years in that position.

Norwest Corporation and Wells Fargo & Company merged in 1998 with the surviving entity name being Wells Fargo & Company. For Stumpf it led to higher positions and more responsibilities and accomplishments.  He headed the integration of Wells Fargo’s acquisition of the $23 billion First Security Corporation in 2000. Stumpf was appointed Group EVP for Community Banking in May 2002. He headed one of the largest mergers in history with the purchase of Wachovia in December 2008.

Stumpf became president in August 2005, CEO June 2007, and chairman in January 2010. His early circumstance wasn’t an obstacle to his success.