Joe Moglia reflects on importance of communication & risk taking

When Joe Moglia, former CEO and current chairman of TD AMERITRADE, sat down with The Reader’s Kyle Tonniges for the first issue of disRUPT, he spoke candidly about subjects ranging from his childhood in Manhattan to his quest to land a career as a Division I head football coach. Most of all, he reflected on…

When Joe Moglia, former CEO and current chairman of TD AMERITRADE, sat down with The Reader‘s Kyle Tonniges for the first issue of disRUPT, he spoke candidly about subjects ranging from his childhood in Manhattan to his quest to land a career as a Division I head football coach.

Most of all, he reflected on his tenure at AMERITRADE and the impact his leadership had on the successful Omaha-based, online discount brokerage firm.

“We wanted to be really, really outstanding at our ability to help clients buy and sell stocks,” Moglia said, recalling the bullet points of a presentation he gave shortly after arriving at AMERITRADE in 2001.

Additionally, he wanted to take an active role in consolidating the financial services industry through the acquisition of competing and complementary companies. Looking further into the future, he set a goal to leverage AMERITRADE’s technology to give a competitive advantage to the long-term investor in terms of portfolio management.

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“I got here in the spring of 2001, and in the fall of 2001 that was the story we told Wall Street, and we’ve delivered on every word of that,” Moglia said.

During his seven years as CEO of TD AMERITRADE, shareholders enjoyed a 500 percent return during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The firm’s market cap grew from $700 million to $10 billion, client assets rose from $24 billion to $280 billion, it led the industry in consolidation and became the leader in online trade transactions.

TD AMERITRADE’s Joe Moglia bucks tradition, by Kyle Tonniges

As a follow up to Tonniges’ story, we’re releasing two video highlights of his interview with Moglia. View the video below to hear Moglia’s thoughts on communication in the workplace, the E-Trade episode, being headquartered in Omaha, and what keeps him up at night. Tune in tomorrow to hear his advice for entrepreneurs.



To hear more from Moglia, I strongly recommend you view Dr. Roger Fransecky's discussion with him, recorded earlier this year at Creighton University: Leadership Conversations - Joe Moglia.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN's origin »

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