Wells Fargo exec to relocate

Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2002 | 11:04 a.m.

Laura Schulte, the president and chief executive of Wells Fargo's retail operations in Nevada, is leaving the state to take the helm of the bank's 900-branch California operation.

"It's bittersweet," said Schulte of her departure. "I love Las Vegas. I can't emphasize that enough. I love the Las Vegas business climate and community spirit. But this is a professional opportunity within Wells Fargo to do more in Los Angeles of what I've been doing in Las Vegas."

Schulte said Wells Fargo has work to do in California -- especially in Los Angeles, where she will be headquartered and where she said the bank does not have the No. 1 market share in all of its segments, as it does in Las Vegas.

Schulte said she has started the transition to her new position, but she will continue to spend time in Nevada until Wells Fargo names her replacement.

She said the bank is looking for a new Nevada retail operations head from within the company, and she said she expects her successor to be named within two months.

Schulte was in charge of Norwest's Nevada operations when Wells Fargo acquired the bank in 1999. Upon completion of the merger, she was appointed head of the new entity's statewide operations.

"I'm proud that as a company, we've contributed at great levels to Las Vegas, not just in resources but in volunteerism," she said. "I'm also proud that we've reinvested in the community in a lot of ways.

"We've built a lot of new branches, we've continued to expand and we've merged a lot of businesses together. Many of the things we've been able to do in Las Vegas, we want to do in Los Angeles and Orange County."