John V. Rindlaub is CEO of Wells Fargo's Pacific Northwest Region. He joined Wells Fargo in 2002 after leaving Bank of America, where he had an extensive career including roles as chairman and CEO of Seafirst Bank, president of Bank of America Northwest and chairman of BofA Asia. Rindlaub has a lengthy résumé of civic involvement, including as director and past president of the Washington Roundtable.

What was your first job?

Cutting the lawn for 50 cents an hour using my dad's tractor. I remember getting into big trouble when I took the motor off the tractor to build a go-cart. My parents liked my creativity but needed to keep the lawn cut. What business decision do you wish you had made? Speaking of my dad, I wish I had had a chance to run a business with him. His last job was as a founder and executive vice president of finance of MBIA, the leading public guarantee insurance company. He was a superstar accountant and operations manager, while I am more of a big picture strategist. We would have been a great team.

What business decision do you regret having made?

Something I initially regretted but which turned out very positive involved an acquisition. When I was CEO at Seafirst Bank (which was wholly owned by Bank of America), I was negotiating to acquire a company, only to be turned down by BofA's head office. I was later really upset when Wells Fargo acquired the company. When I joined Wells Fargo six years ago, it was gratifying to know we had them as part of the team.

Has the growth in the number of wealth managers changed traditional banking practices?

There has been a growth in wealth managers, but the biggest change in traditional banking has been the number of nonbank commercial enterprises that provide banking services including commercial and retail loans. However, most of the new players are transactional rather than relationship driven. And if I were on the other side of the desk, I would choose a traditional bank as my source of funding - as I believe in relationships.

What's a sexy sector for business lending?

The hot sectors in business lending are generally in the service, health care and technology areas. While U.S. manufacturers are having a resurgence due to a much weaker dollar, the economic growth - especially in the Northwest - has been in the service sector. Many of our loans are no longer secured by hard assets like inventory and equipment, but by service contracts, trademarks, brands and enterprise value. A good part of our growth has been achieved in the service space.

What's the next market opportunity for financial services in Washington?

We see several good opportunities in financial services. The continued globalization of the economy has created a huge need for international capabilities, like foreign exchange and international treasury management. Another huge opportunity is for us to help owners of privately held companies liquefy their commercial investment, assist in selling it to the employees or passing it down to the next generation of the family. We have great capabilities to support owners in this area. Finally, there is a continuing huge move from paper checks, invoices, etc., to electronic payments. We are a leader - in helping save trees.

What's the biggest challenge to doing business in Washington?

The biggest challenge to doing business in Washington for all businesses is our business climate. Our transportation infrastructure is sorely lacking. The second challenge, which continues to worsen, is finding trained workers. Our education system - especially K-12 - needs to become world class. Finally, business bears a much higher tax burden on a relative basis than most of the other states.