Household recruits Wells official as president and chief executive.

CHICAGO -- Resolving management succession uncertainties, Household International Inc. has recruited William E Aldinger, a senior executive at Wells Fargo & Co., to become president and chief executive.

Mr. Aldinger, 47, in September will assume the two Household posts from Donald C. Clark, 63, who said he would remain chairman for up to two more years.

He was not available for comment Friday.

A vice chairman of Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco, Mr. Aldinger has been managing consumer operations encompassing 625 branches and 13,000 employees.

"Given his background and stature in the industry, Mr. Aldinger appears to be an excellent choice to fill the seat at Household,"' said J. Frederick Meinke, a banking analyst with Kemper Securities Inc.

Household, a financial-services conglomerate based in Prospect Heights, Ill., for nearly 18 months has been trying to arrange Mr. Clark's succession.

The process was delayed after an internal designate, Edwin Hoffmann, died of a heart attack in April 1993, one month before his scheduled promotion.

Household's stock rallied strongly following the late Wednesday announcement of Mr. Aldinger's appointment The price of the issue advanced by nearly 9% on Thursday, with investors registering their approval. The stock closed Friday at $36.625 a share, down 37.5 cents.

Household operates a thrift, a finance company, a credit card company, a mortgage company, and a life insurance company. It is Winding down troubled commercial-lending operations.

In 1994's first half, Household earned $162.1 million, up 24.5% from a year ago. The company posted a 14.2% annualized return on equity.

Mr. Aldinger joined Wells Fargo in 1986, leaving a position with Citicorp. He began his banking carrier at U.S. Trust Co.

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