The 2015 Tech 50: Kevin Rhein

< The 2015 Tech 50: Racers to the Edge

19
Kevin Rhein
Chief Information Officer
Wells Fargo & Co.
Last year: 27

Wells Fargo & Co. enhanced its reputation by being one of the few big banks to remain profitable and virtually scandal-free through the financial crisis. Perhaps not coincidentally, the $1.7 trillion-in-assets, San Francisco–based company has maintained technological leadership by building on a heritage that includes some of the first Internet innovations in the 1990s. Last year its number of active online customers climbed 8 percent, to 25 million (out of a total customer base of 70 million), and 15 million are banking on mobile devices. For Kevin Rhein, 61, who became CIO in 2011 after working in card services and consumer lending, the goal is now “a seamless omnichannel experience,” whether customers are online or mobile, on the telephone, in stores (as Wells calls its nearly 9,000 branches) or at 12,500 ATMs. Wells has implemented “click to care” in its mobile app, providing a direct link to call-center operators, as well as image-capture technology to speed up check processing. By year’s end, all 15,000 members of the Wells Fargo Advisors network are expected to have the Smart2Go app for mobile interaction with their clients. Noting that Wells has launched a program to develop relationships with fintech start-ups and to coinvest with venture capital firms, Rhein says, “We have to think about how we deal with disrupters, but we also try to identify technologies that could have legs for our organization.” Rhein, who is based in Minneapolis and presides over a far-flung workforce of 25,000, says that being decentralized, as a result of multiple acquisitions, is an advantage for recruitment. “Our major hubs for tech are in Charlotte, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Phoenix and San Francisco,” he says. “This has allowed us to have a much broader and more diverse candidate pool.”

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The 2015 Tech 50