July 5, 2021 Kovacevich had two main audiences for his cross-selling mantra investors and employees and he understood how to speak to both groups. "Letting an employee know how much in incremental profits he or she generated for the company is the biggest driver of increasing cross-sell," one Wells executive said at the time. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Richard Kovacevich of Minooka, Illinois, born in Joliet, Illinois, who passed away on July 5, 2021, at the age of 70, leaving to mourn family and friends. "I admire what they are trying to do," the 64-year-old Mr. Kovacevich said in an interview, declining to discuss the specifics of the meeting. We focus not on products but on customer needs. Would you like to offer Richard Kovacevichs loved ones a condolence message? Early in his corporate career he was a planning and division general manager with General Mills before joining Citicorp. Next: The torch is passed to John Stumpf and Carrie Tolstedt, and they push Wells Fargo's cross-selling strategy beyond the limits of effectiveness. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact In one speech in September 2007, just as the bank's securities lending program was discovering its investment problem, Kovacevich told an investor conference, according to documents and memos: "We looked at this stuff but it was so toxic. They were all referring to "The Vision and Values of Wells Fargo," a document that aims to describe the company's culture and is one of the enduring legacies of the Kovacevich era. Mr. Kovacevich relented. Find the obituary of Connie E. Kovacevich (2018) from Minooka, IL. Wells Fargo faced a tricky calculus. .css-16c7pto-SnippetSignInLink{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;}Sign In, Copyright 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved, 50% off + free delivery on any order with DoorDash promo code, Wayfair promo code: 10% off any single purchase, 60% off running shoes and apparel at Nike without a promo code, Score up to 50% off Nintendo Switch video games with GameStop coupon code. By 2012, no amount of selling could offset a poor customer experience score in the branch incentive plan.". The company had previously partnered on its credit cards with Barclays. In addition, exactly how the metric was calculated was opaque, which made it difficult to compare Wells' ratio with those of other banks. At Norwest, Kovacevich confronted a similar situation. After all, the banking industry had never been known for its sales prowess. 09:02. He was predeceased by : his parents, Nicholas, Sr. Kovacevich and Rose Kovacevich (Maravich); his wife Connie Kovacevich; and his brother Nicholas Kovacevich, Jr. (Marlene). By the time Kovacevich retired, he'd become an industry legend, in part because of his unflinching focus on sales to existing customers. Kovacevich expanded Citibank aggressively into other areas such as mortgages. A graveside service for Kinkela will be held Friday, March 10, 2023 at 1:30 PM at Thornton Cemetery, 1200 Kerry Smith, age 68, of Toronto, Ontario passed away on Friday, February 24, 2023. He married Sherry Skeels who preceded him in death. "Each banker needed to come up with a minimum of eight solutions a day," Yesenia Guitron, a former branch worker in St. Helena, Calif., told the Napa Valley Register in October. Obituary. Hahn Funeral Home 505 W 8th St, Mishawaka, IN 46544. Thu, Jul 22 2021 11:11 AM EDT. So the company set goals for the number of times employees were to speak with customers, according to one former Kovacevich deputy, who left the company in the early 2000s. Richard Kovacevich, former Wells Fargo Chairman and CEO, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the state of the markets, investment strategy and more. "I don't know why they touted it," said one former Wells Fargo executive. Kovacevich was relentless in his pursuit of additional sales to existing customers. Over the years, the document took on a totemic quality inside the company. He worked for the Kozol family in the beer and liquor business in sales throughout his life. "I never heard of a retailer who didn't want customers coming to their store," Kovacevich told the New York Times in 1993. The number climbed throughout Kovacevich's tenure at Wells Fargo. our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. The two companies used different methods for calculating their cross-selling ratios, the former executive said. The bank says the candidates failed to make full disclosures. His favorite times were spent with his vast community of friends. The banking industry appears to be stuck when it comes to diversifying the leadership ranks. But a thorough understanding of what happened at Wells Fargo does require a close look back at his tenure as CEO. "The good news is it's hard to do, because once you build it, it's a competitive advantage that can't be copied.". A Flagstar executive said the mortgage-focused bank is "not just going to sit on the sidelines and watch this happen.". No authentication protocol (including anonymous) is selected in IIS. May 05, 2010 - 6:04 AM, Recently retired Wells Fargo & Co. Chairman Richard Kovacevich told jurors Tuesday that he could not recall being advised about investor problems in the bank's troubled security lending program even though bank executives assured clients that the matter was being addressed "at the highest levels.". Before the fake account scandal surfaced, and even since then, Wells executives have often spoken admiringly about the company's "vision and values. One former Norwest executive recalled talking to bank employees in numerous states after joining the company during the 1990s. November 6, 2022 On June 27, 2007, the board of directors elected Stumpf CEO, with Kovacevich retaining the chairmanship. Linda S. Kovacevich. Cross-selling was sometimes described as "needs-based selling." [9], Kovacevich joined the board of advisors in 2013 and the board of directors in 2016 of heavily criticized Theranos, a now defunct privately-held health, technology and laboratory services company headquartered in Palo Alto, California that falsely claimed to have developed devices to automate and miniaturize blood tests using microscopic blood volumes. Interment will follow and Richard will be laid to rest at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Joliet.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made as gifts in Richard’s memory to St. George Serbian Orthodox Church.

. Send this article to anyone, no subscription is necessary to view it, Anyone can read, no subscription required, See Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. For all of Kovacevich's focus on cross-selling, he seems to have been aware of the perils of taking the strategy too far. Going for Gr-eight!" The trial, now in its third week, contends that Wells Fargo misled clients about the nature of investments contained in the securities lending program. Make a life-giving gesture Kovacevich realized the only way he could keep growing the company would be to expand beyond banking services, into investment and insurance services as well. This page was last edited on 20 December 2022, at 19:29. '", Stumpf himself told Congress this fall: "Of course we've made mistakes. Those sentiments would later be articulated by Wells Fargo's new leaders, as they insisted there was nothing wrong with the firm's sales culture. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. ", Continue reading your article witha WSJ subscription, Already a member? Dicko treasured his friendships and the many memories that were created together. Education: Stanford University, B.S. Not everybody lives up to our vision and values. I'd call it one sale," the former executive said. Recently retired Wells Fargo & Co. Chairman Richard Kovacevich told jurors Tuesday that he could not recall being advised about investor problems in the bank's troubled security lending program . But in an email, he said the following about his tenure at the bank: "I believe almost everything, but not all, you have been told here is incorrector at a minimum conveys the wrong impression.". Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. ", But then came a numerical goal that was, at the very least, in tension with what had come before: "We expect to sell at least one more product to every customer every year.". The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. Rick was born April 4, 1956, in South Bend. Still, when Kovacevich retired as the bank's CEO, Wells Fargo's customer satisfaction ratings had fallen even further behind the rest of the banking industry. In reality, Citibank only had 6% market share of deposits (the vast majority of money being in Savings and Loans, Credit Unions, and other institutions). He was also an investor in the company. Executives joked that if a town had two exits, Norwest would buy the local bank. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Richard Kovacevich to pay them a last tribute. In 1998 Wells reported 3.2 products per retail banking household. The second audience for Kovacevich's sales message was Wells Fargo's own employees; after all, he was relying on tens of thousands of bankers to do all of the selling. He was raised and educated in Joliet and graduated from Joliet West High School with the class of 1968. One benefit of the cross-sell ratio was that it was easy for investors to understand. [1] At Stanford University he received BS and MS degrees in industrial engineering, followed by an MBA degree from Stanford Business School in 1967.[2][3]. Wells paid a high purchase price, and the deal included generous severance packages for senior managers at First Interstate. Kovacevich was told by his team that Citibank had 30% market share but was losing 108 million dollars a year. "He was thought of as a leader," said Darryl Demos, an executive vice president at Novantas. Just two months later, Wells Fargo and Norwest struck a deal, and while it was billed as a merger of equals, there was little doubt that Norwest held the upper hand. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.</p> <p>Richard is survived by his siblings: Danny Kovacevich and Neda Nissen; nieces and nephews: Robert Kovacevich, Nicole Cachia, Kristian (the late Grant) Avery and Mike Kovacevich; cousins: Veta Goodnight, Sam Kovacevich, Paul Kovacevich, Karen Kovacevich and Greg Kovacevich, as well as many . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Wall Street was initially skeptical. The survey was aimed at evaluating the quality of the customer experience, he said. (66 years old). His colleagues regarded him as a “true icon in the beer business”.

In his free time, Dicko loved going to Nascar and drag races at the track, rooting for the Bears during football season, attending Rolling Stones concerts whenever they came to town and was a great golfer. But what really set Norwest apart was its CEO's intense focus on sales or more specifically, sales to current customers. The implication of that language is that when Wells Fargo sold a product, it was solving a problem in a customer's life. The Web server is not configured for anonymous access and a required authorization header was not received. By 1999, the amount of profit that each Wells Fargo salesperson generated daily was being tracked in California, as the company sought to build a stronger sales orientation in the nation's largest state. The sales targets he established were ambitious and perhaps unrealistic. Richard is survived by his siblings: Danny Kovacevich and Neda Nissen; nieces and nephews: Robert Kovacevich, Nicole Cachia, Kristian (the late Grant) Avery and Mike Kovacevich; cousins: Veta Goodnight, Sam Kovacevich, Paul Kovacevich, Karen Kovacevich and Greg Kovacevich, as well as many many dear friends, including the Kozol brothers. Richard Kovacevich is a man on the move. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

Richard is survived by his siblings: Danny Kovacevich and Neda Nissen; nieces and nephews: Robert Kovacevich, Nicole Cachia, Kristian (the late Grant) Avery and Mike Kovacevich; cousins: Veta Goodnight, Sam Kovacevich, Paul Kovacevich, Karen Kovacevich and Greg Kovacevich, as well as many many dear friends, including the Kozol brothers.

He is preceded in death by his wife: Connie Kovacevich; parents: Nicholas, Sr. and Rose and brother: Nicholas (Marlene) Kovacevich, Jr.

Family will receive relatives and friends for a visitation on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 from 8:30 a.m. until time of funeral service beginning at 12:30 p.m. at Tezak Funeral Home, 1211 Plainfield Road in Joliet. Mega Millions numbers for Friday, Mar. When Ciresi pressed Kovacevich whether other company executives were lying when they said Kovacevich and Stumpf had been briefed on the topic, he declined to respond, calling the question "hypothetical.". He is survived by : his siblings, Danny Kovacevich and Neda Nissen; his nieces and nephews, Robert Kovacevich, Nicole Cachia, Kristian Avery (late Grant) and Mike Kovacevich; and his cousins, Veta Goodnight, Sam Kovacevich, Paul Kovacevich, Karen Kovacevich and Greg Kovacevich. There are no events scheduled. In 2001 he was elected chairman as well. He then joined Norwest Bank as chief operating officer and head of the retail banking group in March 1986. ", Carrie Tolstedt, who until recently ran the bank's retail banking division, was once quoted praising then-CEO Stumpf as "a master modeler of the 'vision and values. The 40-page booklet was full of these sorts of mixed messages. Family and friends can send flowers and condolences in memory of the loved one. "Yet you often hear bankers complain about people who waste their time, ask too many questions and get the carpet dirty.". "Over time, these survey results were given significant weight in the incentive compensation strategy," Freeman said in an email. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made as gifts in Richard's memory to St. George Serbian Orthodox Church. The former executive characterized that anecdote as an example of how Norwest's culture emphasized form over substance. Just a few years earlier, a sale of the fabled bank would have been unthinkable. To leave an online condolence or to share a memory, please visit www.hahnfuneralhomes.com or Hahn Funeral Home Facebook page. Beloved husband, best friend and soul mate of Pauline for 55 years. But it was actually during his predecessor's tenure that the company first cited the number eight as its goal. [8] He is also vice president of the board of governors of the San Francisco Symphony,[8] vice chairman of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and a member of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's California Commission on Jobs and Economic Growth, the National Infrastructure Advisory Committee, and the Financial Services Roundtable. Once you find the obituary you are looking for, you can get important information about upcoming services, share a favorite .