Interested to hear from folks in tech what they think about the job Saul is doing?
I have heard 2 consistent points of view.
The first one is “no he is awful, completely out of his depth and just more of the same”.
The other is “yes, he is trying to turn the titanic around but there is so much rot and cronyism throughout tech leadership levels that it will take a long time for the trickle down ideas from the top to get to the engineers in the trenches”
I missed the last ama/townhall where that comment was made, but if accurate what does he think of his new technology college then? As you know it’s all online coursework...
I think he is too far up in the Management chain to know what really goes on day to day with the technology efforts at the basic worker level. The "big picture" is all that he probably sees. But it is the low level operations that he needs to tune into in order to really understand what is happening with technology at Wells Fargo.
Somebody is actually running tech?
I missed that one. Which week was it?
Did anyone happen to catch when Saul Van Useless critized those that didn't get a REAL education unless you went IN TO a college? This was during his #asshat talks whenever location strategy would come up for discussion. Which, let's face it, was the only reason we dialed in to his stupid "Ask Me Anything" calls which now has a "vote on topics" selection because everyone just wants to know if we are getting laid off or if we can continue to WFH. Who thought, wow, you are a such a di(K? For those that have online education or busted butt working their way up in the bank and rock at your job, you actually s— because you didn't go IN TO THE College of Doucheland. BTW, I DID go IN TO a college to get my degree, however, I don't judge those that don't. I would prefer a hardworking problem solver that takes initiative over an id–t with a degree who s—s at their job. What do we think of Mr. Useless? He's a tool.
If you do a little digging you can find that part of his MBOs are to offer consistent communication. So next time that you think his communications are coming from a desire for transparency then think again. His multi-million dollar bonus is riding on those weekly updates, AMAs and All Hands. Which could also explain why he never really says anything of any consequence. Those communications are for him, not for you.
At the end of the day he's really just a professional corporate manager – a good talker that can toe the corporate line and do what he's told to do.
Yes, he does a great job satisfying CS needs and desires.
The only thing that SVB is good at is announcing to 20,000 employees every time he is about to take a sip of his Starbucks cappacino.
SVB doing a good job running tech? LOL, no.
Not competent in the least.
You crack me up. Thanks for the laugh though we all needed it...
@2vbo+186fExWK is correct. If you want to understand how he business works, talk to a great software developer. It has been over 50 years since business and ops teams in banks understood the business as well as the developers.
SVB has an accounting degree and learned how to get into high-paying technology jobs that he has no qualifications to be in. He has no clue about technology. He is just a good talker and seems to have the right connections. I can't stand listening to him. And it's hard to have respect for someone like that. He is a short-timer who gets a big, fact paycheck for doing nothing.
And those glasses! And those sips of his cappuccino! It would be good if he went away. Arrogant narcissist!
@2vbo - don't mind them, they keep dreaming up non-sense work that isn't valued and think that it is providing value. sure, they are needed to do all of the paperwork and checklists that they created, but when you talk about the job actually getting done, its the engineers. engineers can do what they do, if needed, but they can't do what engineers can do.
@2ouu+186fExWK, technical people actually know more than you on how the business and the surrounding technologies work, hence the term Information Technology.
Anywho, the non-tech people are always asking questions on how things work, what is the business logic , can you explain it to me, and so on
SVB is a clueless, self centered person (based on his tone deaf AMAs and his cold responses to relocation and WFH questions).
He does not inspire people, at least not any of the folks I know, the opposite.
He seems to think Agile is some kind of magic process, when it's just another way to make to do lists. That's probably because he's never really worked in IT as an IT person, just a white-paper jockey.
And his biggest crime? The 6-S's.
Management by buzzfeed listicle is very bad management.
I'm looking for a new job, it's clear Wells IT is stuck in the last century and they are not making good choices about moving forward.
I worked in Silicon Valley for two decades prior to coming to WF, most of Wells IT management would last about ten minutes in an actual tech company.
He seems like a nice guy but I have two words when answering the OP question: Hell. No.
As mentioned, he is tone deaf and thinks developers are the only people in IT. Has no idea young developers expect to WFH as part of the deal and in a lot of ways such as that stuck in older times. Thinks agile and automation will solve everything. You can’t automate everything and agile doesn’t work with some of these applications.
Cuts seemed to be wholesale instead of using some sense. Some managers got cut that they will realize they need when it hits the fan. Some of the development managers that are taking up the slack are overturned and have no idea about some of what they are now supposed to manage.
Overhauls don’t happen overnight and wisdom doesn’t discount a lot of that experience you just kicked out the door.
Some of these folks did the same stuff at Chase and it didn’t work quite how they envisioned which they regretted later. Now they aren’t around when it hit the fan and are doing the same here. They’ll be on to the next gig when it hits the fan here. Guess who will be expected to clean it up? Have fun you folks who think you know it all. You know who you are.
I like him, simpy because of his AMA meetings. I've been with WF for many years, and NOBODY in management has ever had regular meetings like that before where they actually share info.
I do feel that he is too narrowly focused on Tech meaning "Developers".
We're not a software development company - we're a BANK. IMHO we "develop" too much that then has to be supported via overly complex "process", often long after the "developers" have moved on to something else (I think things would change fast if developers had to SUPPORT what they develop).
And don't get me started on "Agile". Saul (and a lot of Sr management to be fair) seems to think that "agile" means "nimble". Uh, no.....................
@uhd The non technical people were there for a reason. Engineers as you call them have no idea how the business works. That is kind of important in a financial institution. This is not a video game outfit or strictly an IT shop.
Out of curiosity, do you think he shoudn’t make cuts? Do you think that the company is working efficiently? Do you think that he shouldn’t say anything about layoffs, even though people are asking him to tell the org what’s going on?
The best thing that Saul can do is to offer himself up for cost savings.
He does have one thing right: Technology really is all “just Developers”. Developers know the stack from the business requirements to the metal. Far from being clueless, SVB is dead on. The only great IT people come from burned out developers. Most IT jobs are largely clerical support of dead technologies, a sad but true fact.
Yes. He is very much tone deaf. He actually made a comment in one of his useless Ask Me Anything meetings about how it can be liberating getting laid off at this time.
@2uhd+186fExWK, you are right, too much red tape and too many unneeded non - technical workers; really they are just annoying and can do pretty much nothing. Engineers can put the CR in the system so removing another un-needed layer.
Saul's ranking is a "2" at best.
He brings no special skills or expertise to the job. He was hired to fire people and somehow -someway figure out a way like every other company on how to recruit the best possible engineering talent at the lowest possible price.
He has in not shown any sign that he is capable of doing anything more than cheerleading and "sloganeering" that his magical wishful thinking will somehow transform the technology department.
Is he recklessly taking apart things or thoughtfully planning a path forward? He is really more mediocre status quo — hoping to tread water more than anything else. He would like you to think he is a grandmaster of 3-dimensional chess, but actually he is playing checkers at less than a third grade level.
He often comes across as tone-deaf, trapped in the executive bubble of privilege and clueslessness. To be fair, if he were my boss on small accounting team, he would probably be an OK guy in a lesser role– it's just that he's not the major leaguer and prime time superstar that the company needs to be an innovator and leader in technology.
Saul has never shown any sign of “running tech”. What are you even talking about?
Schart has no understanding of tech beyond being able to scroll through a spreadsheet or click through a PowerPoint. Until he wakes up, which won’t happen, Saul is golden.
engineers can do everything the non-engineers can do but not the other way around and can figure out a better way. If they can’t, those individuals should be eliminated too. Yes, I’m new here but have to say am surprised at how behind we are at with just the basics.
To the Pluralsight comment, every other financial services company (banking and cap markets) already has. Just another sign of how behind we are. If you’re going to knock SVB, its gotta be for something else, like not getting rid of the beuracracy fast enough - you know, all of that bs that the non-engineers do.
SVB literally thinks Technology is just Developers. That is how clueless he is. Every time he mentions "upskilling", it is always about development. He needs to understand that developers are not all of Tech. Many, many other roles make what devs do possible.
I would also be interested in how much stock he owns in Pluralsight or if he is on the BoD or something.
Isn’t it interesting that they want mostly “engineers” in tech teams now but SVB himself is not a tech person.
Can you get rid of the wasted workers Charlie? These are the non technical people who pretend they are doing something but in reality add no value. They read canned cr documents, read by thousands before. They call people into meetings with no agendas and annoy everyone, causing conflict between the workers.
They say they are doing compliance, but in reality they are secretary's, but at end of day add no value because they don't know the domain.
Do all tech groups need their own secretary's? why are there thousands of these worker types?
Either you struggle with reading comprehension or you're a fan of SVB,
@1kpq. You sound like you are either HR or Charlie. I already mentioned number one change that needs to happen. He needs to be replaced with a real Tech Leader who doesn’t just blabber away and no one really gets what he is talking about or the real future Tech Vision. Agile, 6 S’s and Location Strategy is just talking points and not real Tech Transformation that needs to happen to the ancient Tech that we have today.
Do you have anything constructive to add about what changes you would like to see?
No. He is not Tech Savy. Not a forward thinker. They need to replace him ASAP with a real Tech leader if they want Wells to survive. He is just a puppet, who repeats same BS over and over again. If someone actually listens and understands his thick accent to what he says when he talks it absolutely makes zero sense. He must be good friends with someone from BOD or Charlie to get this position with no Tech Knowledge. Also, CISO that he hired is even worse.
Yes, the Earth shattering 6S strategy is completely unique and never been done before. It is so new and fresh that it will simply have to work. I am being sarcastic of course...
: @1gvr
LMAO, good one. I enjoy sarcasm.
I think he's doing ok, but he and the company have the location strategy completely wrong. We do not and should not consolidate resources. For those that want to be in the office, fine, they can, but telecommuting ensures we have the best people for the job. We have proven the distributed model works well and we should not take that away from anyone.
No sign the disorganization and dysfunction in WIMT is being addressed. No sign that SVB understands how bad his tech is. Thinks he can fix it with Agile and slick initiatives ... 6S ? Mission statements out of the 90s "delight our customers" ... c'mon.
They think the way to move forward by having engineers take classes for new tech that we wont be able to use because there is no time money or initiative to rewrite the applications. 2 weeks studying java and spring 2 years ago to no use.
I'm not aware of anybody that likes SVB.
The stubborn clinging to the location strategy when COVID has proven we can be effective remotely is what k–ls me. Sooner or later the ridiculous hub strategy will fire up again and people will be forced to uproot their families or find new jobs. Thousands of people affected by one persons ignorant clinging to outdated working methods.
He’s awful.
Yes. His 6 S’s are Revolutionary. The most forward thinking Tech Leader in any Industry. But honestly, this is probably what most people think of when he mentions the 6 S’s
Silly
Sarcastic
Sad
Stupid
Scam
Scapegoat
Well there is the monthly learnings for CLT that I actually enjoy but now that I think of it he didn’t come up with that. It was a worker bee like all of us in this board.
Tech college is through Pluralsight which is a good place for reskilling but the only thing I’m banking on is taking that training with me if I am displaced. I don’t buy SVB when he says there is a position for you if you want it and work hard.
He is given direction from Chuckie and headcount to reach. He’ll do what it takes to achieve that. We are on our own.
been in multiple LOBs and WFA is far superior from a technology environment perspective