During our recent conversation with Ed Wehmer, President and CEO of Wintrust Financial Corporation, we discussed maintaining a culture in the face of external pressures, such as outside regulations. We conclude our 3-part chat with this Leader With Courage by asking how leaders in his company share the workload effectively and evaluate others. Value Drivers: One of the problems leaders face is the prospect of doing too much and instead need to learn the what, how, when, and t

In the continuation of our conversation with Ed Wehmer, President and CEO of Wintrust Financial Corporation, we talked about the kind of culture Ed built in the early days of the company that people could buy into. However, no matter what best-laid plans you have, the real challenge may occur when outside forces and even growth threaten to change that culture. We dove into this topic deeper in this part of my chat with this Leader With Courage. Value Drivers: During our conve

When he founded Lake Forest Bank and Trust in 1991 and then Wintrust in 1998, Ed Wehmer solidified himself as a true Leader With Courage. Much of Wintrust’s growth can be tied back to Wehmer’s efforts in overseeing its day-to-day operations and strategic initiatives. In a recent conversation, Wehmer was able to share a variety of insights with us regarding his approach to leadership and leaving a mark on the financial industry. Value Drivers: Early on your career, you were to

Recognize this curve? It illustrates one of the most fundamental concepts in finance - compound interest. This is when interest on the principal sum of a loan or deposit is reinvested. As a result, in the next period, you earn interest on the principal plus the previously accumulated interest. As it turns out, compound interest isn’t an idea made exclusively for the economic world: It applies quite well to leadership too. When we gain experience for ourselves, what we’ve prev