IMGCAP(1)]
When Wincor Nixdorf AG announced last week it had hired
Patrick Wright as president and CEO of the company's Austin, Texas-based U.S.
division, the 41-year-old Wright already had distinguished himself from his predecessor, Brad Waugh.
Unlike Waugh, who lived in Providence, R.I., and commuted when necessary to
Austin, Wright, a native of Midland, Texas, sold his home in Columbus, Ohio, and purchased one in Austin.
During an interview last week in New York with ATM&Debit News, Wright
named the cities and towns where his siblings live in the Lone Star State.
Waugh and Wright differ in other ways. Waugh is an entrepreneur
who is credited with opening banks' doors to Wincor Nixdorf. In fact, Waugh announced his resignation in May to return to his entrepreneurial roots
(ADN, 5/8). Observers view Wright as a manager, but Eckard Heidloff, Wincor
Nixdorf AG president and CEO, said during the New York interview he also wants
Wright to function as a "hunter."
Wright's decision to move to Austin reflects the type of corporate executive he
says he is. "I am a very hands-on kind of manager," he says.
Wright's hiring also underscores Wincor Nixdorf's long-term commitment to the
U.S. market, the company says. His employment means Wincor Nixdorf will
have an onsite CEO unless he is traveling on business.
He replaces Javier Lopez-Bartolome, president of Wincor Nixdorf for the
Americas and Iberia regions, who served as acting president of the U.S.
division until the firm hired Waugh's successor.
Despite the slate of changes the new top U.S. executive can bring to an organization over time, Wright says he plans to keep one of Waugh's key initiatives
in place by employing a dedicated sales force to call on the nation's largest banks.
But unlike the division under Waugh's leadership, the company is marketing
to regional and community banks, a market Wincor Nixdorf has until now
largely ignored.
Wright, a 17-year veteran of JPMorgan Chase & Co., was senior vice president and
head of retail operations there. In his former position, he was responsible for cash, cash forecasting and helped oversee Chase's ATM network. New York-based Chase and San Franciso-based Wells Fargo Bank are Wincor Nixdorf's two largest U.S. accounts
