LUTHER HODGES JR.: The son of a governor reinvented himself throughout his career.

• Author: Infanzon, Vanessa

If Luther Hodges Jr. thought being the son of an influential governor would make for a smooth ride, he was mistaken. Hodges made his way through banking, politics and business by adapting to a variety of complex situations.

Hodges, 87, grew up in Leaksville, in Rockingham County near the Virginia border. He earned his bachelors degree at UNC Chapel Hill in 1957, during his fathers gubernatorial reign from 1954-61. The younger Hodges served in the Navy from 1957 to 1959, then earned an MBA from Harvard in 1961.

Though he had worked for a summer at then-dominant Wachovia Bank, Hodges chose to join North Carolina National Bank in Charlotte, which was formed in 1960 after mergers of banks in Charlotte and Greensboro. His peers included Hugh McColl Jr., who had joined the organization in 1959.

"They would sit up late at night and talk about how they were going to turn NCNB into a banking powerhouse," says Greensboro author Howard Covington Jr., who with Marion Ellis co-wrote a history of NationsBank, which became Bank of America. "They were competitors and good friends."

Over the next 15 years, the duo helped NCNB CEOs Addison Reese and Tom Storrs to build one of the nations 25 largest banks. Hodges spent lots of time attracting clients in the Northeast states, while McColl focused on lending to Carolinas' businesses. At age 38, Hodges became chairman of the banks board, which was distinct from the holding company.

"(Hodges) was a good public face for the bank," Covington says. "Luther had a recognizable name. He was a handsome guy. He did well in front of the public and the legislature, or wherever he was needed."

By the mid-1970s, many U.S. banks were struggling because of high inflation and growing levels of uncollectible consumer and real estate loans. To help steer NCNB through the difficult period, then-CEO Tom Storrs preferred McColl's "driving force of energy" to Hodges' "glitz and glamor," Covington says.

Like his father, Hodges had political ambitions. A 1974 Time magazine feature on "Leadership in America" spotlighted one emerging leader in every state. Hodges, then 37, represented North Carolina. Pundits expected him to launch his political career "before the decade is out," Time reported.

In 1977, Hodges resigned from NCNB to run for U.S. Senate. (McColl became CEO in 1983 and built what is now the second-largest U.S. bank.) Democrats hoped to defeat Republican Jesse Helms, who was completing his first term. In a surprising primary...