Thursday, September 17 at 7:30 p.m. - Freed Center

FROM ONU.EDU/EVENTS__Walt Bettinger, 65, has served as Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Charles Schwab Corporation since 2022. In addition, he served as Chief Executive Officer of the firm from late 2008 through 2024. Under his leadership, Schwab became the largest publicly traded investment services firm in the United States (as measured by client assets) and one of the world’s largest financial services firms.

During Mr. Bettinger’s tenure as CEO, the firm experienced exceptional growth in all key areas, including:
- The market capitalization of Schwab grew from $19 billion to $150 billion,
- The value of Schwab stock grew from $15 to $80,
- Client assets grew from $1 trillion to $10 trillion,
- Client accounts grew from 9 million to 43 million, and
- Employee count grew from 10,000 to 33,000.

Bettinger has been recognized throughout his career as a leader in financial services, including: 

• In 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018, he was recognized in Fortune magazine’s Businessperson of the Year listing - in 2018 he was ranked the #7 businessperson globally; 
• in 2010 to the Power 30 by Smart Money magazine of the world’s most powerful and influential players; and 
• the 2009 lifetime achievement award for contributions to the retirement security of working Americans by Plan Sponsor magazine.

In 1983, at the age of twenty-two, Mr. Bettinger founded The Hampton Company in Akron, Ohio, a provider of retirement plan services for corporations and their employees. The Charles Schwab Corporation acquired Hampton in 1995.

In addition to his duties co-leading the Board of Directors of Charles Schwab, Mr. Bettinger is an investor in multiple sports-related entities, including minority ownership in the Tampa Bay Rays major league baseball team.

Outside of his professional duties, Mr. Bettinger is active in numerous charitable and philanthropic efforts. He and his wife, Teri, are founders of the Walt & Teri Bettinger Foundation & Charitable Fund and the parents of five adult children. A native of Ada, Ohio, Mr. Bettinger attended Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in finance, summa cum laude, from Ohio University. He has also completed the General Management program offered by the Harvard Business School, as well as been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from multiple universities.

The Carroll V. Lovett Distinguished Lecture Series was established by a bequest of Florence V. Lovett in honor of her son, Carroll Lovett, BSEd ’61, a retired executive from the Xerox Corporation. After completing an associate’s degree at a larger university, Lovett came to ONU in the late 1950s wanting to pursue his bachelor’s degree in a smaller, more personable setting. He formed lasting friendships during his student days and often recalls fun times with his Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity brothers. After graduation, Lovett embarked on a career in fire loss prevention, working for The Travelers Insurance Company and Aetna Life and Casualty, before leaving the insurance industry for a new field. He spent the next 25 years working for Xerox Corporation in Stamford, Conn., where he was responsible for fire safety engineering at all Xerox facilities. Lovett also was active on the boards and technical committees of the National Fire Protection Association. He retired from Xerox in 1994.