a ee ee Seca By Edward Iwata ver the dreamers and optimists, Americans love our rags-toriches stories. The pauper turns into a prince. The coal miner’s daughter finds fame and glory. The computer nerd is reborn a high-tech wizard. A poor country boy from Ogden becomes one of the most respected leaders in finance history. Dee Ward Hock, Class of ‘47, is a modern-day success story who overcame shyness and personal hardship to found VISA International, the global credit-card giant. Few outside his industry know his name. But insiders lionize VISA’s retired president in tones usually reserved for great athletes. All of them credit the strong-minded, visionary Mr. Hock as the force behind the rise of VISA International and VISA USA. “Dee singlehandedly did more for the credit-card industry than any person I know,” says Spence Nilson, editor of The Nilson Report, a trade newsletter. “He understood the future of the industry when nobody else did and time has proven him correct. Now they’re all benefiting from his early concepts.” Today, VISA is by far the largest consumer-payment system in the world. The corporation dominates the credit and debit-card market, surpassing even MasterCard. And it’s still going strong, with revenue growth rates in the double-digits every year. Mr. Hock grew up outside Ogden with five siblings and his