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Heather Magaha - Wells Fargo

Gold Stevie Award Winner 2012, Click to Enter The 2014 American Business Awards

Company: Wells Fargo & Company
Entry Submitted By:Treasury Management Client Delivery (TMCD)
Company Description:Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational banking and financial services holding company which is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with "hubquarters" throughout the country. It is the largest bank in the world by market value.
Nomination Category:Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category:Woman of the Year – Industry

Nomination Title: Heather Magaha

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated woman since the beginning of July last year (up to 525 words): TEXT REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION

Good enough is not enough for Heather Magaha, Senior Vice President and National Client Services Manager in Wells Fargo’s Treasury Management Client Service group.

Heather continuously improves systems, pioneers processes, and develops her people to ensure the bank’s most complex customers receive the exceptional service for which Wells Fargo is known.

• Launched ‘chat’ as a channel- Heather saw an opportunity to use new technology to innovate the engagement her team has with large customers who have dedicated Client Service Officers (CSOs). She personally spoke with customers about their desire for expanded channels of communications, created a business case, and won approval to offer the first of its’ kind Wholesale banking ‘chat’ sessions. Heather shaped the customer experience and the metrics relating to usability and satisfaction. Within weeks, chat volume surpassed the rate of phone calls and both customers and Client Service Offers were thrilled with the rapid resolution that chat provides. Because of this success, Heather’s team will be the first in Treasury Management to offer video conferencing with customers; something for which she is laying the groundwork now.

• Took a fresh look at Service Reviews- Heather’s style of innovation could be summed up as: “If it’s not broken, break it anyway and re-build it better.” That’s what she did with Service Reviews; presentations to customers centered on case data used to surface recommendations that reduce dependence on customer service. Combining the themes of listening to the customer and empowering CSOs, along with tactical disciplines of root cause analysis and process improvement, a new methodology, more relevant to the customer, was born. Now called Service Consultations, early indications show a significant rate of positive impact for the customer, compared to the prior program.

• Created a Wells Fargo Women’s Mentorship Group- Heather is the creator, sponsor, and facilitator of a new initiative called “Working Women’s Group” after she saw a need to serve women early in their corporate careers. Held in small groups that allow for honest dialogue to occur, Heather has designed a repeatable program that tackles topics like work-life balance, navigating social events for work, how to give and receive feedback, and how women can find their voice.

• Led an ‘Impostor Fraud’ education initiative- A new type of quickly escalating fraud was snaring our Wholesale customers and causing major monetary losses. Heather led an effort to touch over 10,000 customers through calls and emails, educating them on the warning signs. Heather’s team has received an abundance of emails from customers saying because of the training, they identified and thwarted the fraud before any money was lost.

• Increased employee engagement – Through focused action planning, Heather led her team to increase the ratio of actively engaged team members by 25% as measured by Gallup, surpassing the world class benchmark.

• Achieved exceptional customer satisfaction scores- Heather’s team received 4.8 out of a possible 5 for four consecutive quarters.

• Recognized as a strategic leader- In January of 2015, Heather was appointed to the Treasury Management Operating Committee, the governance group that sets strategy and reviews products and services for the entire business unit.

Provide a brief biography of the nominated woman (up to 125 words):

Heather Magaha is Senior Vice President, Treasury Management Client Services. She oversees a group of Client Services Officers who are dedicated to portfolios consisting of large and complex customers like Amazon, Boeing, Verizon, and City of New York, to name a few. Wells Fargo banks 280 of the Fortune 500, and those customers need a high level of expertise, product knowledge, and swift resolution of issues.

Heather manages six services sites (Winston-Salem, Charlotte, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Jacksonville). She began her career in the Investment Operations Management Training program and has held various analyst and management positions within Operations, Business Banking, and Treasury Management.