Jon Weiss, Senior Executive Vice President of Wealth & Investment Management at Wells Fargo, On What Makes Banking So Special To Him
Jon Weiss is the Senior Executive Vice President of Wealth & Investment Management at Wells Fargo. In an interview with Business Today, Weiss shares how he got his start in banking, and why he has stayed with the company for so long.
Business Today (Rhea Park): Something college kids struggle with a lot is finding their “passion.” Did you always know what you wanted to do in life?
Jon Weiss (JW): No. I had never thought about going into financial services. I was a Romance Language major in college. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my career, I never thought I would spend 39 years in the banking industry.
BT: Banking seems like quite a different direction to go. What got you started down the banking path?
JW: I needed a job. My wife (then my girlfriend) was working at a bank, so that gave me the idea. But really it was that I needed a job. What I thought about banking was that it would teach you the trade and what you brought banking was an interest in working internationally. Another thing about banking - if you don't really know what you want to do, banking is a sector that will give you exposure to pretty much every other sector. So you get a lot of exposure to different industries and you get a lot of exposure to different countries.
BT: And what has led you to stay in the banking industry for so long?
JW: Every time I've gotten bored, or felt the need for a change, I've been very fortunate that some change came. I've only worked at two different organizations, but I've had about 10 different roles along the way. The fact that I was able to do something new and exciting is what kept me here. And plus, plain inertia.
BT: Staying in one industry is one thing, but what has it been like to stay at one company for so long?
JW: Some people can spend their entire careers doing the same thing and just getting better and better at that. There's absolutely nothing wrong with those people, but that's just not me. I need something new every several years. When you have that need for change and you're working at a company where that change is available to you, there's no reason to leave. But if you're bored of something then I would see a need for some change. The only time I changed companies was after 25 years, and it was only because I said: maybe it's time to try a new flavor.
BT: Going along the theme of change, what kind of change or impact is Wells Fargo trying to do in the world?
JW: We are trying to prove that by doing well for our people, we can also do good and be a good corporate citizen. I think the banking industry gets a lot of criticism - for good reason, sometimes, but it also does a lot of good. It is the industry that distributes capital to people who need it from people who have it, better than any other system that the world has come up with so far. So we're trying to advance that cause.
BT: What are some of the biggest challenges you face in implementing those changes?
JW: The biggest challenge, when you're an organization of 260,000 people, is making sure that everyone has a common set of values, a common vision, a common set of objectives that we never lose sight of. For us, it’s the fact that we have to put our clients first in whatever we do.
BT: How can college kids get the same energizing feeling of teamwork that seems to be important to the success of Wells Fargo?
JW: Well, it comes from following certain procedures and developing the muscle memory of how you do things. But that muscle memory is team muscle, not just the individual muscle.