40 Under 40 Class of 2018

Ben Leonard

Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Bank; Age 38; Education: BA, University of Texas at Austin

Ben Leonard

Ben Leonard

Leonard is a 17-year veteran of Wells Fargo and currently a senior vice president in the bank’s Middle-Market Group, based in Springfield. He is responsible for leading Wells Fargo’s growth in Western Mass. An active member of the community, he is on the board (co-vice chair) of Revitalize CDC, and is a regional ambassador for the New England AFP. He is also the New England Division ambassador for the bank’s Women’s Market Growth Initiative. Leonard lives in Hadley with his wife, 2-year-old daughter, Ida Belle, and their great dane, Doc. Raised in Hawaii, he enjoys playing ukulele with his daughter, as well as motorcycling, snowboarding, and brewing beer.

What did you want to be when you grew up? An automotive journalist.

How do you define success? I see success as a mindset where you enjoy regularly pushing against and expanding the limits of your potential. It may just be the last effort in a 5K or putting yourself out there to speak to a large group, but some of the most rewarding moments for me have come when I pushed myself beyond my own previously set limitations.

What three words best describe you? Loyal, honest, hilarious.

What goal do you set for yourself at the start of each day? Find a way to laugh. You never know what the day might throw at you to disrupt your best-laid plans. However, on the days when I can maintain a light heart, I’m better able to appreciate the highs, and the lows seem a little less severe.

What do you like most about Western Massachusetts? Balance. We have the perfect mixture of big-city culture, music, museums, and restaurants, combined with rural natural beauty and small-town social connectivity.

What are you passionate about? Transparency. With colleagues, I believe honesty in how decisions are made is very important. I have great respect for those who are generous with information, and make a point to help others avoid wasting time on paths previously explored. With clients, transparency in pricing and what you can and can’t do is necessary and rewarded in the long term. With family, open communication is paramount as well. I’m for just about anything that improves efficiency and trust.

What fictional character do you relate to most, and why? Wall-E. He’s a hopeless romantic surrounded by consumerism and technological dependence, but, against the odds, he transcends what he’s programmed to do.

Whom do you look up to, and why? My partner, Rebecca. She is honest, loving, confident, hardworking, well-read, and thoughtful. She’s not driven by ego, not impressed by superficial things, and the best role model a little girl and her dad could have. I and many others are better people from being around her.


Photography by Leah Martin Photography