DAILY MAIL
Wells Fargo executive Greg Beckett jumped to his death from bank’s Delaware offices – as family say he’d been stressed about work and taking meetings as late as 11pm
- Greg Beckett, a 46-year-old bank executive, tragically took his own life in the face of an all-consuming job that demanded long days and late night meetings
- Beckett jumped from the 14th floor of Wells Fargo’s headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware but left no suicide note and showed no noticeable signs of distress
- Every year, several hundred workers take their lives at their workplaces leaving family members and colleagues grappling with unanswered questions
A 46-year-old bank executive took his own life leaving his family struggling to comprehend what had driven him to take such drastic action.
Greg Beckett from Bridgeport, New Jersey, had been working at the headquarters of Wells Fargo in Wilmington, Delaware when he jumped from the office boardroom on the 14th floor in January of this year.
The fact he left no suicide note nor showed any signs of distress in the days, weeks and months before his death only worsened the agony for friends, family and co-workers he left behind.
Greg had been responsible for Wells Fargo’s internal controls, aimed at safeguarding the bank from risks but his workload had steadily increased leading to longer hours and increased stress.
His job appeared to become all-consuming with long days and meetings running as late as 11pm.
On the night of his death, Greg abruptly stopped responding to text messages and phone calls from his loved ones.
When his family became concerned, his brother and sister-in-law thinking he might have been involved in a car accident, went to his office in search of his vehicle, only to find the parking lot blocked by police.
His sudden death made little sense to his loved ones with his life outside of work seemingly going well.
He had recently moved in with girlfriend, Giovanna Muraca, and her daughters.
A devoted Philadelphia Eagles fan, the team had been performing well and Greg had gone to several games, tailgating with friends before games.
He was also known for discussing the latest drama on the Real Housewives with his friends’ wives and helping out his parents with household chores each week.
But nothing in his personal life belied the trauma he appeared to be suffering.
A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo expressed sadness for the loss of their colleague in a statement noting how it hard to pinpoint the reasons behind such tragedies.
‘We’re deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague. Greg was a valued member of our team. As we all know, it’s virtually impossible to identify a reason when a tragedy like this occurs. There is nothing more important to all of us at Wells Fargo than our colleagues’ well being,’ a statement read.
After his passing, a manager in another department noted how Greg had been working on several high-stress projects for an extended period of time.
‘If we don’t find healthy ways to address it, there will be negative consequences of one form or another,’ the manager warned.
But Greg’s brother, Dave Beckett, expressed surprise that no senior executives from Wells Fargo attended his memorial service, although some of his colleagues did. The bank sent flowers as a gesture of sympathy.
When a human resources worker later contacted Dave to provide information about his brother’s life insurance and final paycheck, she had not been briefed on the circumstances of his death.
Upon learning the details, she reacted with shock quickly ending the call.
‘He had personal accountability to that place, and that place had no accountability to him,’ Dave told the Wall Street Journal.
Scott Powell, the chief operating officer at Wells Fargo, stated that the bank’s top executives were informed of Greg Beckett’s death, and the company communicated with employees about it. Senior human resources personnel were also on site to meet with employees.
Wells Fargo had been encouraging employees to return to the office and told its Wilmington-based employees that they didn’t need to be in the office the week following Greg’s death.
It appears the message got lost with many employees having already come back into the office when they received the advice.
Returning workers noticed that the conference-room window from which Greg had jumped had been boarded up.
Sadly, the heartbreaking incident is not an isolated case. Every year, several hundred workers take their lives at their workplaces leaving family members bereft and colleagues grappling with unanswered questions.
