Former Philadelphia office director tackles a bigger challenge. Wachovia has made Maria Juantorena Trafton director of its wealth-management business in Texas. The former managing director of Wachovia’s private-client office in Philadelphia will be responsible for delivering the usual roster of high-end services to Wachovia’s private clients in Texas.

“Wachovia and Wachovia Wealth Management are new to the Texas region, and it is a critical, growth market for us,” says Trafton. “I look forward to the opportunity to lead us in that growth and serve our clients well in the years ahead.” Trafton will be based in Addison, on the outskirts of Dallas.

Homecoming

Texas boasts some of the fastest-growing wealth markets in the country. The Dallas area alone was home to something like 36,000 millionaires in 2004. Claritas, a San Diego-based market research company, says the city’s “million-plus” population will increase another 65% before the decade is out. In the U.S. as a whole, only Atlanta has a faster projected growth rate.

“With the population growth expected [in Texas] in the next 25 years, it is imperative that Wachovia is positioned to serve the needs of the market,” says Linda Bowden, head of Wachovia Wealth Management. “Maria Juantorena Trafton led one of Wachovia's largest and most productive wealth teams in Philadelphia, and has served high-net-worth clients there for a dozen years.”

As an undergraduate, Trafton attended the University of Texas at Austin – where she says she acquired her “taste for finance.”

A 20-year veteran of the financial-service industry, Trafton has been with Wachovia for the past 12 or so years. Prior to joining Wachovia, she was a senior underwriter with Bank One. She got her start as a corporate lender for Bankers Trust in New Orleans. –FWR

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