Oct 8, 2020
Dick Kovacevich was CEO of Wells Fargo from 1998 until 2007, during which time he built the company into a banking powerhouse. Dick’s relentless focus on selling Wells Fargo’s customers as many products as possible is what made Wells such a widely admired company, but it also sowed the seeds of Wells Fargo's later problems. In this episode Dick discusses his philosophy of banking and the fake account scandal that became national news in 2016 with Lee Reiners and special co-host Patrick Rucker from The Capitol Forum.
Notes:
29:11 - Wells Fargo more like Home Depot than Goldman Sachs.
37:20 - Telling managers that he was disappointed in sales numbers.
55:47 - Attrition loss of customers employees
1:05:57 - What would he say to the employees who were fired
1:14:59 - Discusses whether executives should go to jail
1:18:00 - Discusses continuing to work at the bank