Finance | Insurance 2023: RICHARD FAIRBANK

CO-FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL, TYSONS

Published August 30, 2023 by Virginia Business

With bachelor’s and MBA degrees from Stanford University under his belt, billionaire Fairbank began his path to a Fortune 500 corner office at Virginia’s Signet Bank. There, he teamed up with Nigel Morris, now managing partner of QED Investors, to co-found a credit card spinoff business that became Capital One Financial, one of the nation’s 10 largest banks. Morris has called Fairbank “one of the most special human beings on the planet.”

Fairbank became CEO in 1994 during Capital One’s initial public offering. Under his leadership, the credit card giant is moving strongly into digital banking. Revenue grew to $34.25 billion in 2022, making it Capital One’s second-most profitable year. However, for this year’s first quarter, the bank reported a 60% drop in profits from the same period a year ago, to $960 million, largely due to customers defaulting on their credit cards and car loan debts.

Known for its star-studded commercials featuring icons like Samuel L. Jackson and Taylor Swift, Capital One moved to permanent hybrid work schedules in 2021, and in May the company required employees to be at work three days a week.

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