Investor Spotlight: Wells Fargo


August 13, 2018



Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $2.0 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,300 locations, 13,000 ATMs, online (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 263,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations.

Jim Themides is the regional vice president for the Wells Fargo Tampa Bay/Gulf Coast Regional Commercial Banking Office (RCBO).  A 30-year financial services veteran, Themides is responsible for a team of professionals who serve middle market businesses with annual revenue greater than $25 million.

Before arriving in the Tampa Bay area, Themides served as regional president in the Baltimore market, where he was responsible for the overall success of all lines of business in the region. Themides holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina.  He also completed an executive leadership program with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Active in the community, Themides serves on the Boards of Directors of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Tampa Downtown Partnership.

You recently joined the EDC as the new Investor representative for Wells Fargo; what are you most looking forward to about your involvement with the EDC?

The Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Council is the face of our business community, helping existing businesses grow and attracting new companies to our region. I am proud to join this organization in its efforts to showcase the attributes to living and working in the region.

As a business leader in Tampa, what aspects of our community make Tampa an attractive location for businesses?

Tampa has so much to offer businesses across industries. With temperate climate, moderate cost of living, and an educated talent pool, Tampa is an ideal business location. The quality of life and access to beaches attracts young talent looking for a place to live and build a career, while access to ports and airports offers companies multiple ways to reach customers domestically and globally. This community is also one of collaboration – political, business, and community leaders work together to achieve success and attract people and businesses to the market.

How does Wells Fargo attract and retain top talent?

Our people really are our greatest asset – and this is key to attracting and retaining top talent. Wells Fargo makes investments in our team members, from professional development to opportunities to give back to their communities, we support employees in all aspects of their professional pursuits.

Our mentoring programs connect team members in an effort to open more doors and share experience, insight, and opportunities for growth. In 2016, our commercial lending team was recognized as a Diversity and Inclusion winner for our focus on women leaders in business.

We also have a strong focus on helping women-owned businesses and Hispanic-owned businesses access capital and other financial tools to successfully expand their companies.

Wells Fargo offers competitive compensation and benefits packages, and recently joined a growing number of companies offering expanded paid parental (maternity and paternity) leave up to 4 months.

How does a financial institution like Wells Fargo impact the Tampa market?

At Wells Fargo we want to create future economic growth and prosperity in the communities where we live and work. In 2017, our company contributed more than $525,000 to nonprofits and schools in Hillsborough County, but for us it is more than just writing checks, our team members are here to serve the personal and financial needs of the local community.

With more than 650 team members in Hillsborough County, we are proud of the personal connections that we have made locally. Whether it is leadership involvement on the board of nonprofit organizations or the hundreds of team member volunteer hours, we are committed to helping our communities prosper.

We also pride ourselves in finding ways to be a part of the solutions that help strengthen our local business community. We know that successful businesses are essential to growing our economy. With one of the most successful commercial lending teams in our company located here in Hillsborough County, we are proud of the role that Wells Fargo plays in helping our local companies succeed financially.

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