Operate Podcast

Community Banks Will Still Thrive - Brad Bolton, CEO of Community Spirit Bank, and Immediate Past Chairman of ICBA

 

The heart of a community banker is a real thing. I remember it from my childhood, growing up in a community where my family was involved in the local community bank. My grandfather's and father's friends were bankers and they were passionate about the community and what the bank could do to help it thrive. Not everyone has had that experience, but Brad Bolton has, and he lives it by example every day in his community in Alabama and at his bank, Community Spirit Bank. 

He also lives it through his involvement in the ICBA (Independent Community Bankers of America), where he was recently Chairman, and traveled the country meeting with his fellow community bankers.  It was an inspiring and insightful conversation to hear about his journey, his perspective and his passion for community banking. And I'm also excited about his resolve for how community banks will continue to effectively serve their communities from coast to coast.

It's been a wild year so far for banks, and Brad's thoughts on what it means for community banks is worth a listen. Enjoy!

Thanks to BankTech Ventures for sponsoring as well.

New Approaches to Talent & Culture in Banks - Samantha Berg, CHRO of Choice Bank

 

I really enjoyed my conversation with Samantha Berg, the Chief HR Officer at Choice Bank. She's spent most of her career there and has grown and advanced inside of the bank, and embodies its culture. She also has a fresh and relevant perspective as an HR leader, and shared a lot of those thoughts and ideas in this episode.

Choice is a progressive bank with one of the most active banking-as-a-service businesses in the industry, and we talked about how that affects talent and culture across the bank, and whether to silo or integrate it.

Enjoy this discussion with a people leader who thinks a lot about attracting and retaining talent in the banking industry, clearly the most important topic facing her peer bank leaders across the country.

Thanks to show sponsor, BankTech Ventures.

Future Leadership, Strategy & Growth in Community Banking - Heath Fountain, CEO of Colony Bank

In this episode, Heath Fountain, CEO of Colony Bank, delves into the world of community banking and how Colony Bank has navigated growth and innovation amidst the current economic uncertainty.

He discusses the importance of incorporating technology to create efficiency for the bank and better experiences for customers, the need to redefine community beyond geographical boundaries, and the role of community banks in revitalizing rural areas. Heath also highlights the value of personal touches and ease of doing business that community banks provide in comparison to national and regional banks. Additionally, he shares insights into his strategic planning process, leadership perspectives, and personal habits for growth and development.

Heath has built a culture that attracts and retains talent, and creates a desire to compete and win in serving customers and building a future-oriented bank.

Thanks to show sponsor, BankTech Ventures.

Staying Ahead of the Tech Curve in Community Banking - Greg Ohlendorf, President & CEO of First Community Bank

Greg Ohlendorf is the President and CEO of First Community Bank & Trust in Beecher, Illinois. He has over 35 years of experience in community banking and is known for his active leadership and advocacy for community banks. Greg has served as both a board director for the ICBA and his state banking association, and he is a vocal advocate for digital transformation in banking and collaboration with fintechs.

He has been an early and aggressive adopter of new solutions, positioning his bank to compete effectively in the changing landscape. Greg's vision for the future of his bank revolves around meeting evolving customer expectations while remaining committed to serving the community. He is comfortable with digital transformation and fintech collaboration and encourages his peers to embrace change and speed. Greg effectively filters through the numerous fintechs, using partnerships with the ICBA and BankTech Ventures to help him identify valuable opportunities.

He also provides advice to fintechs on improving their relationships with banks, as well as helping banks to more productively work with fintechs as well.

Outside of banking, Greg's personal interests contribute to his professional development and shape his leadership style. He maintains habits of personal development to stay energized and motivated. When asked why a business should work with a community bank as a financial partner, Greg emphasizes the benefits of personalized service and a deep understanding of the local community. He is excited about the bank's prospects for the year and also looks forward to playing golf at various courses - he is a world class golf aficionado.

Thanks to BankTech Ventures for supporting the show.

 

Cyber Governance & Risk Management Success - Zach Duke, Founder & CEO of Finosec

 

Zach Duke is the founder and CEO of Finosec, a company that provides a governance automation platform for financial institutions. They offer automated solutions, relentless protection, continuous monitoring, and actionable insights to help financial institutions save time and enhance exam preparedness. Their platform is designed to simplify cybersecurity management and reduce cybersecurity liability. They are passionate about community banking and all of their services are designed to help financial institutions manage evolving threats.

Zach and I had a great conversation that spanned his career and entrepreneurial journey, his love for community banking, bank technology and cyber security, and his advice for other founders out there.

Thanks to show sponsor, BankTech Ventures!

Driving Change in Trucking Insurance - Ian White, Co-founder & CEO of Koffie Financial

 

Ian White and I have known each other for nearly 20 years, and intertwined through several parallel entrepreneurial adventures. I was excited to finally record one of our conversations and let him talk about Koffie Financial, the company he co-founded a few years ago, that is disrupting the $100B+ commercial truck insurance market.

We also talked about some of his prior entrepreneurial endeavors, our shared love of data and its value in the world, and one of my favorite stories about how he used Craigslist to recruit for his business and ended up on an FBI list. He has great stories and perspectives, and is the type of entrepreneur I love - obsessive about learning and figuring out how and why things are the way they are, and could be better. 

We always laugh and explore when we're together and he always manages to enlighten me on a new topic or 2. There were many in this episode!

Thanks to show sponsor, BankTech Ventures!

Making Waves: A Founder’s Journey - Jacob Ruytenbeek, Founder & CEO of SailPlan

 

It's been an absolute pleasure to be alongside Jacob Ruytenbeek for his founder's journey since the very early days of SailPlan. His passion for the maritime industry was evident from the moment we met, and then combining that with a curiosity and openness to the customers and their biggest challenges, it was easy to be convinced that he'd find his way.

I'm so glad to be able to record this conversation, which details his journey so far, as well as the progress of the company, so this is instructive for founders, investors, anyone in the maritime industry, as well as those interested in carbon-reducing innovation.

Please reach out to Jacob or me with any follow up questions, comments or thoughts, as this will be a compelling story to watch in the next couple of years!

And thanks to show sponsor, BankTech Ventures

When Passion Meets a Market Need - Nicky Senyard, Co-founder & CEO of Fintel Connect

Nicky Senyard takes me on the journey of her career as a successful entrepreneur and how that passion led her to do it again for a new customer segment in the financial services industry. Her company, Fintel Connect, is at the intersection of 2 major trends in the digitization of marketing and banking. 

Since we both work a lot with community banks, we also discuss the state of digital products and marketing there, as they have historically been less advanced in embracing how to meet their current and prospective customers online. Nicky and team are working diligently to help them!

She's a great inspiration for other entrepreneurs as well and shares several great stories in our conversation. 

And thanks to show sponsor, BankTech Ventures

Launching a Startup within a Bank - Nathan Baumeister, Co-founder & CEO of ZSuite

 

Nathan Baumeister is a co-founder and the CEO of ZSuite, and it was a pleasure to have him on the podcast. We talked about the founding of ZSuite within a community bank, and how it's now working with dozens of banks to help them with commercial escrow accounts, and also expanding bank deposits as a result of it.

It's been a pleasure to get to work with him and his team, and become an investor in the company in the past year.

Nathan is a super talented guy, exceptional leader, and is very experienced in the bank tech industry. We can all learn a lot from his perspectives on the industry, business and life. 

Thanks to show sponsor, BankTech Ventures

 

Building a Personal Brand and Enjoying It - Teddy Mitrosilis of The Mitrosilis Group

It is so fun to get introduced to awesome new people, and I had a strong feeling that Teddy Mitrosilis and I would have a good conversation and connection. We did and I think you'll enjoy his stories and ideas thoroughly. (Thanks for the introduction, Mallory Maske!)

We talked about his journey to becoming an entrepreneur, how the market wanted something different from him than he initially anticipated, and how he's working with a number of people on their personal brands and stories, and challenging them to think about creating value for others in their organizations. We also talked about our shared experiences on LinkedIn, which we both use extensively.

Not surprisingly, Teddy has a strong drive and process, which has served him well in athletics, business and life. Great lessons to learn here.

And thanks to show sponsor, BankTech Ventures.