LaPlaca Kicks Off ‘Executive Leadership Series,’ Sept. 28
Conservatory Alumna Shares How She Built An Unexpected Career As A Financial Services Executive
Shenandoah Conservatory Alumna Theresa [Guido] LaPlaca ’81, board director and risk chair of Eagle Bancorp Inc. & Eagle Bank, will share valuable insights related to her career journey “From Music Major to C-Suite,” as the first guest speaker for the Shenandoah University School of Business Executive Leadership Series on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m. in Stimpson Auditorium, Halpin-Harrison Hall, on the main campus in Winchester.
It’s very exciting for me to return to Shenandoah University. It’s been many years since I last visited campus for an alumni weekend, and so much has changed. When I graduated from Shenandoah in 1981, I clearly expected to be a music teacher. Sometimes the paths we expect to take in life take a turn, and we just have to learn to go with it. I’m looking forward to sharing the full story of how I went from music to financial services.”
Theresa LaPlaca | Board Director and Risk Chair of Eagle Bancorp Inc. & Eagle Bank
LaPlaca is the former executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) for Wells Fargo’s Wealth and Investment Management (WIM) division which included Wells Fargo advisors, wealth management, asset management, and institutional retirement. In this role, she oversaw finance activities, client information and analytics, and operations across WIM.
Before retiring from Wells Fargo in June 2019, LaPlaca led and built a Conduct Risk Management Office for Wells Fargo to address sales practice issues. She was responsible for leading a team of 500 to manage and mitigate conduct risks that would arise from employee and business misconduct. The functions involved rebuilding the organization’s ethics and compliance program during a difficult time in the company’s history. She also oversaw the consolidated enterprise conduct risk analytics for management and board reporting.
During her four years with Wachovia before its merger with Wells Fargo, she served as the CFO for the Capital Management Group which included retail brokerage, asset management, institutional retirement, and insurance services. Prior to that, she was the CFO for Citigroup’s CitiStreet Retirement Services division, where she spent 14 years.
LaPlaca is a certified executive coach, a past member of the advisory board of Friends of The Arts at Queens University of Charlotte, and a past finance committee member for the Nevins Foundation. She was named to the “Most Powerful Women in Banking” list by American Banker magazine as part of its “Top Team” two years in a row. She is also a recognized speaker on the topics of conduct and culture risk for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Deloitte’s annual regulatory and operational risk conferences and webcasts, the University of Southern California on Risk Management, and IBM/Promontory Financial Group events for C-Suite clients.
A graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory, LaPlaca earned a Bachelor of Music Education in Voice with a Performance Certificate in piano. She studied with Professor Emerita of Voice Donna Gullstrand, M.M., for voice and Professor Emerita of Piano Eugenia Evans, M.M., for piano.
She and her husband, Robert, reside in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The event is free and open to the public. Questions? Contact Stephanie Swaim at business@su.edu.
