Clausen, Alden Winship

Clausen, Alden Winship (1923–  ) banker; born in Hamilton, Ill. Son of a weekly newspaper publisher, he graduated from Carthage College (Ill.) (1944) and served two years as an air force meteorological officer before obtaining a law degree from the University of Minnesota: Duluth (1949). He went to work for the Bank of America (BofA) the following year and rose through the corporate ranks to become president in 1970. Under his leadership, BofA became the most profitable commercial bank in the world. He left BofA in 1981 to become president of the World Bank, then returned as chief executive officer from 1986–90, by which time the bank's fortunes had begun to ebb.