Key Wells Fargo LV exec resigns

Phil Levine

Tuesday, May 2, 2000 | 11:05 a.m.

Wells Fargo & Co. Southern Nevada Regional Manager Bryan Waters has resigned to join a high-technology start-up company in California.

Waters, 38, joined Wells Fargo in 1988 as vice president of the bank's Sierra Valley Region. He transferred from Wells' Sacramento office in early 1997 to become the bank's vice president of Nevada operations.

As Southern Nevada regional manager, Waters was responsible for overseeing retail operations in Clark County including Henderson and Boulder City.

Waters said his new company, WebCFO, will be an application services provider for small to mid-sized companies. The start-up firm will be based just east of Sacramento.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, and has absolutely nothing to do with Wells Fargo," he said.

"Wells has been very good to me, but this (new company) was a business opportunity too good to pass up."

Since arriving in Nevada, Waters has been a stalwart for Wells during a transitional period in the bank's history.

In 1998, Wells agreed to be acquired by Minneapolis-based Norwest Bank. The Nevada integration of the two banks was completed last year and they kept the Wells Fargo name.

In April, Wells revealed plans to purchase Salt Lake City-based First Security Corp. That merger, valued at about $3 billion, is expected to be completed later this year.

Wells' Nevada President Laura Schulte -- who came from the Norwest side of the merger -- will temporarily assume Waters' responsibilities. Schulte said Waters was a "an extremely valuable team member who will be missed."

"In his 12 years with the bank, including his three years here in Nevada, Bryan made significant contributions to the bank's growth," she said.

"He was a valuable team member who was also very actively involved in the Southern Nevada community."

Schulte said Wells is advertising Waters' position internally, and hopes to name a replacement as soon as possible.

For his part, Waters said he hopes to return to Las Vegas in the near future.

"I would love to relocate the business down to Las Vegas within a year or two," he said.

"I have many friends and business colleagues here, and there's no place in the country I would rather live."