Richard Davis, who started his banking career as a teller and ultimately led U.S. Bancorp through the worst economic crisis since the Depression, will step down as its chief executive in April.
Davis, 58, spent a decade in charge of the Minneapolis-based banking company, becoming one of the most powerful and candid figures in the battered industry — and one of the most visible civic leaders in Minnesota.
He led charitable campaigns; advocated for early childhood education; was embroiled in the Minnesota Orchestra's labor dispute; promoted the region to outside businesses; helped broker the deal for the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, for which his company bought naming rights, and lobbied the NFL to bring the Super Bowl to it in 2018.
He will be succeeded by Andy Cecere, 56, a 32-year U.S. Bank veteran who became its chief operating officer two years ago at the start of a carefully orchestrated leadership transition. "Today, it is time for me to officially start passing the torch to Andy," Davis wrote in a note to employees Tuesday.
The company said the change will formally occur at the annual meeting of shareholders on April 18. The two executives have worked closely for years and, in a joint interview, said employees, shareholders and customers would see little change as a result of the transition.
"We are very much aligned in how we think about things and how we think about leadership," Cecere said. "So I do not expect major changes."
Davis became chief executive in December 2006 and chairman in December 2007. He succeeded Jerry Grundhofer, a key figure in the banking mergers of the 1990s who drove the deals that ultimately made U.S. Bancorp the nation's fifth-largest bank company. As Grundhofer's protégé, Davis frequently handled the operational work of the deals Grundhofer crafted.
Less than two years into Davis' tenure, the collapse of real estate prices and credit spawned a banking crisis that created the biggest economic downturn since the 1930s. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to nearly zero to stimulate a recovery, and the Bush administration forced the largest banks to take bailout funds and accept repayment conditions even if, as was the case for U.S. Bancorp, they didn't need the help.