John “Jack” Grundhofer, who as the leader of First Bank System in the 1990s oversaw dozens of acquisitions that turned the Minneapolis company into U.S. Bancorp, one of the nation’s largest banks, has died.
Grundhofer, 82, died at his home in Indian Wells, Calif. of natural causes, his daughter Karen, of Newport Beach, Calif., said.
In addition to the transformational role he played at a time of major upheaval in the American banking industry, Grundhofer was well-known in the Twin Cities as victim of a kidnapping that, for years, was one of the region’s highest-profile unsolved crimes.
In 1990, soon after he first moved to Minneapolis, Grundhofer was kidnapped at gunpoint from an office building garage. The abductor, who at one point demanded a ransom, made him drive to a remote part of Wisconsin and left him there tied up. Grundhofer managed to escape and ran to a nearby farm for help. The kidnapper was never found.
Grundhofer led what is now U.S. Bancorp during an era of rapid consolidation, engineering more than 35 deals.
In 1997, he oversaw the $9 billion acquisition of then Portland-based U.S. Bancorp to become the nation’s 14th-largest bank. Toward the end of his career, he sold U.S. Bancorp in 2001 to Milwaukee-based Firstar Corp. for $22 billion.
That bank was run then by his younger brother, Jerry. The merged entity, which kept the U.S. Bancorp name and its Minneapolis headquarters. His brother became CEO of the combined entity.
Grundhofer retired as chairman in 2002. Today, U.S. Bank is the fifth-largest bank in the U.S.
“Jack was a natural leader with tremendous energy and a vision for what the bank could be that was bigger than what others thought possible,” Andy Cecere, the company’s current CEO who served as chief financial officer under Grundhofer, said in a statement.
“He led the company through some of the most challenging times in our history, and he made difficult decisions that were balanced, fair and intent on doing what was best long-term,” Cecere said.
Grundhofer was born in Los Angeles, the son of a bartender and a housekeeper. He worked odd jobs throughout high school and college to help support his family and put himself through school.
“Dad always attributed his success to education and the opportunities he had and the sacrifices his parents made to make sure he had a high-level education,” said his daughter. “He also had an uncompromising work ethic.”
He attended Loyola University on a baseball scholarship and earned a degree in economics. He got an MBA at the University of Southern California.
He worked at Union Bank as a credit analyst and trainee, and earned extra income at night as a “repo man.” He rose to be a regional vice president at Union Bank and then joined Wells Fargo, where he spent more than a decade in various executive roles.
In 1990, he came to Minneapolis to be CEO of First Bank System, which was flailing and on the brink of the disaster. He helped rescue the bank, in part by slashing expenses and cutting jobs that garnered him the nickname “Jack the Ripper.” But in the process, he made the bank into a stronger organization that went on to grow and become one of the most profitable banks in the country.
He received the Horatio Alger Award in 1997.
He served on the board of several companies, including Minnesota Life Insurance Company and BJ’s Restaurants.
After he retired, he and his wife, Patti, split their time between their homes in California, Montana, South Dakota, and Minneapolis. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed bird hunting and golfing.
Survivors include his wife and brother; a sister, Joan Briggs; daughters Karen and Kathy and five grandchildren.
The family is holding private services and burial.
Kavita Kumar • 612-673-4113 Twitter: @kavitakumar