Michael William Wright (June 13, 1938 – January 27, 2020) was an American business executive and

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

player. He served as chief executive officer of SuperValu (1981–2001) and as a director of

Wells Fargo & Company Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...

. He was educated at Saint Mark's Catholic (elementary) School, St. Thomas Academy and later attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, receiving a BA degree and later, in 1963, a JD degree. He also played football at the University of Minnesota and in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

, winning the Grey Cup in 1961. After practicing law with the firm of

Dorsey & Whitney Dorsey & Whitney LLP (known as Dorsey) is a law firm based in the United States with approximately 580 attorneys, located between 21 offices in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia as of 2023. The firm's headquarters is in Minneapolis, Min ...

in Minneapolis, Wright joined SuperValu, Inc., in March 1977 as senior vice president for administration. In 1978 Wright was named

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

and president. Wright was president of SuperValu until 2001, serving concurrently as chief executive officer from 1981 and chairman of the board of directors from 1982. A recipient of the 1999

Horatio Alger Award The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to promote and ensure the American Dream for future generations, honor the achievements of outstanding Un ...

, he also served as chairman of the

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States, covers the 9th District of the Federal Reserve, which is made up of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, North and South Dakota ...

. He retired as president and CEO of SuperValu in June 2001 and as chairman in June 2002. Elected a director of

Norwest Corporation Norwest Corporation was a banking and financial services company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. In 1998, it merged with Wells Fargo & Co. and since that time has operated under the Wells Fargo name. History Early formation Th ...

in 1991, he served on the bank's board until its merger in 1998 with Wells Fargo, whereupon he became a director of Wells Fargo. Politically, he was a member of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

for President and of the

National Republican Congressional Committee The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the United States Republican Party, Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives. The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Repub ...

. Wright was a member of the boards of

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, Cargill, Inc., S.C. Johnson & Son, and Honeywell International, Inc. He is also a trustee of St. Thomas Academy, a former member of the University of Minnesota Law School Board of Visitors (1999–2004), and trustee emeritus of the University of Minnesota Foundation. He died on January 27, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Michael W 1938 births 2020 deaths American football tackles Players of Canadian football from Minneapolis Canadian football tackles Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players American chief operating officers American retail chief executives University of Minnesota Law School alumni Wells Fargo employees Businesspeople from Minneapolis Lawyers from Minneapolis Minnesota Republicans Players of American football from Minnesota