Jams M. Wells, III, otherwise known to be and his friend as the beloved Jim Wells, has been Promoted. Gone on to be with the Father. Let me tell you a little about, my friend. Jim led one of the largest banks in America, and the first thing I would tell you about him is that he showed up.
When he joined the Operation HOPE national board in November 2010, he was the Chairman and CEO of SunTrust Banks. The industry was still deep in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and plenty of his peers had decided the best place to be was out of the light. Jim walked toward the work. He put SunTrust behind the HOPE Center at Ebenezer with a $1 million commitment, then took on the fundraising campaign for the $10 million center and asked other bank leaders to join him. When we presented him with the Chairman’s HOPE Award in 2011, I thanked him for leading when others had not, and I meant every word.
In 2015, Jim took on the chairmanship of the HOPE Inside National Advisory Board. HOPE Inside is our answer to a simple question: what if the bank on the corner could also be the place a person learns how to build credit, save, and plan? Jim understood that idea at once. He lent it his credibility with the industry, and the banking world listened because he was the one speaking. He and his wife, Jane, also stood with us as members through the Wells Family Foundation.
I remember one personal story about Jim Wells in particular. One story amongst countless others, that tells you all that you need to know, about this man. He invited me to ‘take a ride with him,’ and of course, when the CEO of one of the largest banks in the nation and the world extends such an invitation, you just say yes. What date and time? And so, we hit the road. 3 hours later, we arrived in Birmingham, Alabama, where my friend Jim had set up important meetings with THE people, who then ran the city; the CEO of Regions Bank (theoretically his competition, mind you), the CEO of Alabama Power, and the CEO of Protective Life Insurance Company. His mission – to get these leaders, to embrace and to support my work. And it worked! They are my partners and friends, to this day. But, that would not have happened — any of it — if not for one Jim Wells, leaning in. Putting his reputation on the line, to cover for and to endorse and to advance mine. This, is what leadership and character looks like. And this, is why I will always, love, treasure and appreciation — my amazing, dear friend, Jim Wells. He has now been Promoted. Gone on to a better place. To the right of the Father. Heaven has gotten some kind of helper, indeed.
I have called Jim a recognized statesman in banking, and I still think that is the right phrase. A statesman measures success by what the whole community gains. Jim’s record with us reflects that. He believed that giving people the tools to move forward is how they take charge of their own lives, and he committed his institution’s resources and his own standing to make that belief practical.
Operation HOPE will continue the work he helped build. Every person who sits down with a HOPE coach and leaves with a credit plan carries a small piece of Jim’s legacy forward.
Jane and the entire Wells family are in our prayers. Thank you, Jim, for leading.
John Hope Bryant
John Hope Bryant is the founder of Bryant Group Ventures and Operation HOPE, Inc, publisher of the Bryant Journal, and author of his 7th book, Capitalism for All: Inclusive Economics and the Future Proofing of America, now a bestseller. Bryant was recently recognized as a member of the Forbes 250 Greatest Living Self Made Americans, on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of America itself. Get the book →
