George Alphonse Schaefer Jr. (born May 17, 1945) is the former CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, a financial services company whose banking arm is

Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), the principal subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp is an American bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fifth Third is one of the largest consumer banks in the Midwestern United States, Fifth Third B ...

. In April 2007, Schaefer stepped down as CEO, deferring to Kevin T. Kabat, retaining his role as chairman of the board. Born in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and raised in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Mr. Schaefer is a 1963 graduate of

Elder High School , motto_translation = Strive for the higher things , streetaddress = 3900 Vincent Avenue , region = Price Hill , city = Cincinnati , county = , state ...

. Upon graduation he was appointed to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

where he received his bachelor of science degree in 1967, in nuclear engineering. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and soon after entered

U.S. Army Ranger United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

school. He was a veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, was awarded a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and left the Army in 1970. He is a 1974 graduate of

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

Business School with an M.B.A. degree focused on finance. He joined Fifth Third Bank in 1971 and continued in increasing roles within Fifth Third Bank, becoming a director in 1988, a company officer in 1990, at which time he reached the top position. He is married to Betty Ann (Bruser) Schaefer. They have 3 children, George III, Shaune and Thomas.

References

1945 births Living people Elder High School alumni United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Ohio United States Army officers United States Army Rangers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Businesspeople from Cincinnati Xavier University alumni American bankers {{US-business-bio-stub