New Boss for the Biggest

For the officers of many major corporations, the man to see about a particularly complicated loan has been Alden Winship Clausen, vice chairman of the San Francisco-based Bank of America. Outside the corridors of corporate power, however, Clausen is almost unknown. He belongs to few clubs and, unlike many bankers, has never headed a Chamber of Commerce. From now on, he will operate more in the public eye. Last week Bank of America directors chose "Tom" Clausen, 46, to become president and chief executive of the world's largest commercial bank.

Move Them Up Fast. He will be a contrast to his predecessor, Rudolph A.. Peterson, who has reached the mandatory retirement age of 65. Peterson is gregarious; Clausen is reserved. In conversation, Clausen uses few gestures and speaks to the point without small talk, though an occasional boyish grin prevents his manner from seeming cold. He plans his day carefully during the half-hour morning train ride from his home in suburban Hillsborough, gets into the office by 8 o'clock. He says he makes decisions by listening carefully to all the facts that subordinates present and then weighing not only the facts but "my assessment of the people who are making recommendations." One of his current judgments is that the slowdown in the economy will cause interest rates to decline gradually.

Clausen grew up in Hamilton, Ill., where his father, a Norwegian immigrant, owned and edited the local paper. He studied law at the University of Minnesota (LL.B., '49), and got a part-time job counting cash at the Bank of America while preparing for bar exams. After he passed, he decided to become a banker rather than a lawyer. He rose rapidly through a succession of lending jobs, many of them involving the financing of corporate mergers and takeovers. Clausen owes his big promotion partly to the fact that he is eleven years younger than his chief rival, Executive Vice President Clarence Baumhefner. The bank has been moving up young executives fast, a trend that Clausen has helped to further. Though he usually lunches with customers, he saves a couple of lunches a month to become better acquainted with younger managers. "The managers of tomorrow will be far younger than the managers of today," he says. "This is not a matter of intellect but of exposure to worldwide activities. Our people mature a lot more quickly than they did before the age of mass television communication."

Not by Profit Alone. Clausen's main challenge will be continuing the bank's phenomenal expansion. During Peterson's six-year tenure, assets have risen from $14.7 billion to more than $25 billion, and the number of foreign branches has expanded from 44 in 1966 to 96 now. Four years ago the BankAmericard operation counted 1,300,000 cardholders in California; it now has 27.5 million cardholders in 48 states and 40 foreign countries, and is adding a million new customers a month.

Lending Specialist Clausen intends to put more emphasis on attracting deposits, a task that he feels bankers have overlooked lately while concentrating on expanding loans. He also has shown considerable sensitivity to community social problems, arguing that business cannot live by profit alone. For example, he helped to plan a $100 million program of home loans to members of minority groups. "Our businesses do not exist in a vacuum," he says. "They will live or die in accordance with the kind of environment in which they operate."

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