Stephan Schenk Provides “SUPA” Career Day Keynote Remarks

Chief Strategic Enterprise Risk Officer for Wells Fargo and alumni parent Stephan Schenk provided keynote remarks for the junior and senior classes at Career Day on February 8. He is primarily responsible for leading enterprise risk programs, governance, and infrastructure at Wells Fargo.

Stephan’s remarks for students were framed by the acronym he created, “SUPA,” which stands for Strength, Uniqueness, Purpose, and Authenticity. It is also a play on the Austrian-accented pronunciation of the word “super.” He shared wisdom and covered a wide range of topics with students, all traced to his personal story, values, and global citizenship.

He urged students to do everything with the utmost respect, with 100% effort, and to be resilient. Stephan’s career path originated in the hospitality and hotel management industry and he provided a few tales from his experience. When working on a cruise ship which ran aground, he witnessed a specialist flown in by helicopter (“the man with the red beard”) to oversee the operation to remove the ship from the sand bank. To Stephan, it was a shining example of the value of competence – clearly, this man was so fully competent at how to navigate a marine crisis that he was flown in to do the job. He urged students not to underestimate the importance of competence in whatever field they may enter.

He spoke about building teams, providing examples of why it’s not about a single person when assembling teams to execute tasks in the workplace. Stephan noted: “How you connect with other people will make all the difference. As a leader, it’s about how I can help my team and others be successful. It’s not about me.” In addition, he elaborated on the value of problem-solving, especially if you can solve problems for others, no matter the industry or situation. He provided three key themes that related to success in the workplace: 1) learn, listen, and ask questions; 2) improve things and put your own imprint on them; and 3) find somebody else who can do your job.

Prior to his role at Wells Fargo, he led Shared Services for TD Bank which included loans; deposit and payment operations; real estate; bank-wide project management; and governance as well as data and analytics, and much more. Stephan has served as the President and CEO of TD Group US Holdings, and was responsible for governance, oversight, and risk management of the combined U.S. operations. He also held other positions with TD including Chief Auditor and Executive Vice President & Head of Operational Risk Management, and also was a Senior Vice President & Chief Operational Risk Officer at PNC Financial Services Group. Stephan taught Enterprise Risk Management in the Graduate Business School at Duquesne University, where he has served on the Business Advisory Committee.

Stephan earned an M.B.A. from Duquesne University and completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. He has also completed the Advanced Risk Management Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Leading Change & Innovation Program at the University of Chicago, as well as multiple technical training programs. He has a degree from Salzburger Hotelfachschule Kolleg in his native country of Austria.

Stephan has served on the MFS School Committee, the school’s finance committee, and was an active participant in the most recent Strategic Planning process. He and his wife Jannette are parents to Liam ’19, a Northwestern University graduate, who is now a Software Analyst for Deloitte, and Nolan ’21, a student at Tufts University.