Leadership

John G. Medlin, Jr. image

John G. Medlin, Jr.

  • Trustee, 1996–2006

Mr. Medlin, a Johnston County, N.C., native, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and served three years as an officer in the U.S. Navy. An icon of North Carolina banking, he rose from management trainee to CEO at Wachovia Bank. In explaining it, he said: “I never really looked up or looked around…do your job every day and things work out. It sort of fell into place.” In 1991 and 1992, an American Banker magazine poll named Mr. Medlin America’s “most admired CEO in banking.” In 1993, the year he retired from the bank after 34 years of service, he was named “best bank chief executive in the nation” by Financial Magazine. Mr. Medlin served ten years as a Trustee of The Duke Endowment, giving invaluable leadership and outstanding service on several committees, including as Chairman of the Committee on Trustees and Governance and as Chairman of the Committee on Audit. He was known for his gentle smile and words of encouragement.

“I never really looked up or looked around…do your job every day and things work out. It sort of fell into place.”

John G. Medlin, Jr.