Founder Profile
Dee Hock
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Dee Hock?
Dee Hock is a founder of Visa Inc., which was founded in 1958.
- Company founded
- Visa Inc.
- Founded
- 1958
Background
Hock was working at the National Bank of Commerce in Seattle, a BankAmericard licensee, when he led the licensee banks' effort to create an independent organization to run the program.
Founding Story
Dee Hock (1929-2022) was the founding CEO of National BankAmericard Inc., the bank-owned company that took over the BankAmericard licensing system from Bank of America in 1970 and adopted the Visa name in 1976. He described its structure, in which competing banks jointly owned and governed one network, as 'chaordic'. He retired in 1984.
Education: Weber State University.
Dee Ward Hock was born on March 21, 1929 and died on July 16, 2022. Dee Hock was born in 1929.