Money, mergers and motherboards

Having worked in banking since leaving high school and at Wells Fargo in its various incarnations since 1978, Head of Information Systems Wayne Mekjian has overseen several mergers and has helped revolutionize the bank’s IT infrastructure. He tells FST about the art of achieving a seamless merger and what he has learnt about effective team management.

As EVP and Head of Information Systems at American's fourth largest bank - Wells Fargo - Wayne Mekjian holds responsibility for a vast network of IT systems spanning over 6000 branches and supporting 276,000 employees. The technology department of the bank alone comprises a workforce of 15,000; a situation that has become ever more complex with the recent merging of the bank with Wachovia Corporation. Naturally, Mekjian says his main focus is to integrate the two banks' IT systems. "The aim is to link the two systems together so that we can conduct sales and provide services from any location. We need to get the company ready so that we're ready to service customers and sell to them and build products that can go forward on either system." He goes on to say that it would be virtually impossible for the two banks to continue with two separate systems. "You couldn't possibly do a merger and have multiple systems in place. You could do it with bridges but you'd have to have the electronics to support that."

Old timer

It is a daunting task, but for Mekjian, who has been in banking since leaving high school and joined Wells Fargo in 1998 when it acquired his then-employer Norwest Bank, it is the latest in a long line of technology transformations the company has undergone. During his long service with the company he says he has seen the role of technology within the business change dramatically and become a key driver of change. "Technology has become more and more critical to the operations and functionality of the corporation. Today we link so many companies together and sell products across so many channels. It used to be that back office processes and technology were similar functions. But it has evolved so that technology is very much on the front line of the business. Technology is more of a focus for customers and is therefore a higher priority within the organisation."

One of the biggest changes Mekjian has witnessed in the banking world is, he says, the transition from cash and check payments to the widespread use of cards. "Even in Vegas, they've gotten rid of cash. Most of the devices there now take cards." Technology has also dramatically increased the speed with which banks can process customer applications for products such as brokerage, insurance or mortgage products. "Up until about 15 years ago if you tried to take a home equity loan they'd take your information and get back to you in three or four days to tell you whether you qualified. Now the entire procedure is instantaneous. You key in the information, it goes out to a decision engine then it comes back and you've got the loan. There has been such tremendous progress."

As technology has become such an integral business driver within Wells Fargo, Mekjian says he has had to adapt his own role and experience to work on the business side of the bank from being a back office technology operator. Having held several different roles within the bank has helped with this transition - the most useful experience having been that of taking up the role of project manager, he says: "I think the biggest learning experience I had was becoming a project manager. When you're in operations you own people - there is a direct line from you to them so you manage differently from when you are in a project management role. When you learn how you can motivate people indirectly, that's how you start to get stuff done."

He goes on to say that in order to motivate employees and also senior management, he has learnt the importance of putting technology into a business context - rather than using complicated and arcane tech-speak. "If you use technical jargon people just kind of glaze over and say 'I haven't got a clue what you just said. It's more effective if you focus on what the technology does for the customer or what the company is going to see from a profit standpoint as a result of this technology."

Leading a team

Mekjian's experience of motivating employees to get excited about technology means he has developed a wealth of experience in management best practice. He says his favorite and most oft-repeated tip for effective management is good communication. "My number one hint would be to communicate. Listen to what your employees' issues are and what they need in order to get their jobs done. And part of good communication is telling employees where you want to go with the technology but not necessarily how to achieve it. If you pass that responsibility on to them it becomes their project and they take pride in what they do so they are not going to fail. Getting recognition and having pride of ownership is very key to success."

Such effective management has been key to Mekjian's successful delivery of projects he says, having learnt that it was only through delegation that he could achieve his goals. "You learn real fast when you're doing a project that you can't do everything yourself. If you want to succeed you have to back off a little. Once I'd learnt that I became much more productive."

Part of his strategy when it comes to gaining the committment of his team is never to refer to himself as a 'boss'. "I learned a long time ago that the word boss is a really bad thing to say. No one I've ever met likes the word boss, they use it in a derogatory sense. I like to think of myself more as a coach or mentor. I say to people 'I'm not better than you, you're not better than I am. We're a team. Let's make it happen'."

Unusually he believes that the economic downturn has had a positive effect on staff morale and development within Wells Fargo as reduced turnover encourages greater staff loyalty. "When the economy is bad it does one thing for all of us; it stops turnover. You get to keep people and the longer you keep people on a job, the more knowledgeable they become."

Seamless integration

It's the type of knowledge that can become remarkably invaluable to the company during a period of transition - such as the merger between Wells Fargo and Wachovia. The partnership, which was completed in 2008, will create North America's most extensive distributor of financial services, with 11,000 branches and 12,260 ATMs dotted throughout the country in easily accessible locations. Currently the company is in the midst of a complex three-year merger integration with Mekjian at the head of ensuring the two companies' systems merge seamlessly - particularly from the customers' point of view. "When a merger happens you need to wire the two companies together and the first thing you wire is the electronics. You start with the ATMs then you go into the branches. Certain systems are going to stay and certain systems are going to go away."

The pressures of achieving a seamless integration between the systems of two of America's biggest financial institutions would leave many in Mekjian's position flailing. However, he says he has learnt with time how to manage his stress levels and, unusually for an executive in his position, believes in switching off once the working day has ended: "I don't always travel with my PC. I don't always turn my Blackberry on. I have a phone and that's the only way you're going to get hold of me. It's not all about you and your PC and you don't have to do it 24/7 to be successful and productive. I love walking away for an hour and clearing my head then coming back and jumping right in. I don't mind being on my PC but I'm not going to answer all those things that can wait. Do I stress out? Not anymore. I used to get really stressed out. People stress out because they've got to prove themselves. I'm past that."

It's a comfortable position to be in and Mekjian says he has no plans to change anything about his working life for now. After all, he reasons, what's not to like? "There's enough stress out there and it's kind of nice to wake up in the morning and say 'I'm going to work and you, know, what's the downside?'"