Emily Dreas

Although Emily Dreas deals with some big dollar signs, managing private wealth for clients with plenty of it, for her the numbers are only as important as the individuals behind them. A consummate people person, Dreas goes to work each day with human-centered and goal-oriented mindset, finding satisfaction in helping clients get the most out of their assets.

“I love the client interaction, the nuances that are involved in cap market and how situations can play out,” she said. “That’s what propelled me in this industry.”

Over the years, Dreas has experienced the full spectrum of high-net-worth individuals, assisting clients on multiple continents with myriad goals in mind for their money, including investments, philanthropy and everything in between. Her experience was so rich that in 2010 Wells Fargo invited her to join in a regional managerial position, showing the next generation of portfolio managers how to emulate her style of guiding clients through the minutia of wealth management.

The result was a pack leader with a “disciplined, innovative approach,” and who is “energetic, positive and creates a dynamic energy around everyone she meets,” according to her office’s Senior Relationship Manager Nicole Thomas.

However, Dreas’ style, though positive and highly collaborative in nature, didn’t develop casually, but rather was forged along a career path checkered with challenges.

Dreas recalled a turbulent merger over a decade ago, when her company at the time was acquired, and she and her colleagues were placed dangerously close to the chopping block; the reputation they had developed thus far meant little to the new management.

“I remember the feeling of injustice I had over the whole thing,” she said. “It was humiliating.”

From those hard times, though, Dreas said she learned the importance of humbleness, and thick skin no matter the circumstances.

“One thing that’s not going to change is change itself,” she said. “You have to change yourself and embrace the change. … Take that energy and transfer it to people – fight for your clients.”

Dreas praised Wells Fargo as an organization for having created a culture along those lines – “unassuming, smart, authentic and genuine.” She said they have a leg up on other large financial institutions through their strong emphasis on risk management, which trickles down as realistic and candid business with clients, and between colleagues.

“That’s something I make an emphasis of – we need to be blunt with each other” in tough situations, she said. “It’s a lot easier to have those conversations, because I’ve been there.”