User:Vchimpanzee/Ed Crutchfield

Edward Elliott "Ed" Crutchfield (July 14, 1941 – January 2, 2024 ) was the president and later CEO of First Union Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina who led the bank's growth from $5 billion in assets to $250 billion in assets at his retirement in March 2001. He was known for his rivalry with Hugh McColl, CEO of NationsBank, which became Bank of America, though both men worked together on improvements to the city of Charlotte.

Crutchfield was born in Detroit and grew up in Albemarle, North Carolina. He graduated from Davidson College and the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. At age 23, he became a bond trader at First Union. In 1973 at the age of 32, Crutchfield became the youngest president of a major U.S. bank. He succeeded Cliff Cameron as CEO in 1984. Crutchfield retired from First Union on March 2001 at age 59 due to lymphoma, shortly before that bank's merger with Wachovia.