Wells Fargo announced that it has named James Schmeltekopf to head the four-state Southern Division of Middle Market Banking, effective immediately. Schmeltekopf succeeds Monica Cole, who was promoted to North Region Head in October.
As executive vice president and division leader, Schmeltekopf now manages Middle Market Banking teams in Kansas, Missouri, Northern Texas, and Oklahoma, primarily serving privately held, family-owned businesses with annual revenues of greater than $20 million. He brings more than 30 years of banking experience to the role.
“James has a history of leading dynamic teams that exceed customer expectations and developing innovative strategies for winning new customers,” said Paul Kalsbeek, South Region head for Wells Fargo Middle Market Banking.
Most recently as South Region sales manager, Schmeltekopf developed and led teams that built new middle-market customer relationships from Texas to Florida. Now, Schmeltekopf leads seven Middle Market Banking offices and 112 team members that help companies across a spectrum of industries, including manufacturing, wholesale, retail, distribution, real estate, and energy reach their financial goals.
Based in Dallas, Schmeltekopf began his banking career in 1984 as a loan workout officer at Allied Bank of Texas. In 1990, he joined Allied and its successor, First Interstate Bank of Texas, as a branch and operations group manager. When Wells Fargo acquired the bank in 1997, Schmeltekopf was named business development officer for commercial banking in San Antonio. In 2004, he was promoted to regional sales manager for the Texas and Southwest divisions, then to regional executive vice president and Southern Region sales manager in 2013.
Schmeltekopf earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from University of Texas at Austin. He has served on several nonprofit boards in the San Antonio area. Schmeltekopf currently serves as board president for the New Braunfels Education Foundation, which serves the New Braunfels Independent School District in New Braunfels, Texas.