Executive Session: Moving Up

Executive Session: Moving Up

EXECUTIVE SESSION by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Scott Stafford is a regional manager for retail and private banking for RBC Bank. His coverage area runs from State Road 70 in Manatee County south to Port Charlotte. Stafford is in charge of eight offices. With more growth along the Gulf Coast, the bank recently changed its management structure.

PERSONAL

Age: 34

Family: Married, wife, Rachel, and daughter Natalie, 3. His second daughter is due in August.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Business from Hanover College, Hanover, Ind.

Books on his nightstand: "Meet the Bible" by Philip Yancey and Brenda Quinn. Just finished "Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service" by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles.

Weekend warrior: Stafford's a member of the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club and enjoys playing golf and working out in the clubhouse. He lives right next door to his mother and father in-law, so the two families spent a lot of time together.

Favorite Sarasota-area restaurants: Euphemia Haye, 5 one 6 Burns and Monty's Pizza in Lakewood Ranch.

Morning routine: Working out. He's usually at work between 7:30 and 8 a.m.

Schedule: On Mondays and Fridays he's in his regular office. From Tuesday to Thursday, he's out at the branch offices. He usually works 55-60 hours a week, with an occasional dinner meeting.

Community groups: Stafford is chairman of the Junior Achievement of Sarasota County and a campaign leader for United Way.

PROFESSION

How did you get started in banking?

"My dad was a bank president of a small bank in Franklin, Ind. I still remember he would take me to work with him on Saturdays when I was young and give me little jobs to do. When I was in college, I worked as a teller during the summer. But right after college I decided I didn't want to work in a bank.

"So I took a job as a Foot Locker manager. I went through six different cities with them and eventually ended up in Cincinnati. It was there that I went through the Provident Bank's management training program."

A quick rise: In two years, Stafford worked his way up to vice president and regional manger for Provident Bank, handling 20 banking centers in Cincinnati. In 2001, at 29, he moved to Sarasota to become regional manager for the entire Florida West Coast.

TRANSITIONS

How did the transition go from Provident to RBC Centura?

"It was really a blessing. I met the management team and they all seem really really sharp. It was an incredibly simple conversion. They left almost all of the same senior management people in place and let us keep our teams together."

How did losing Tramm Hudson impact you and the bank? (Hudson recently left his RBC executive post to run for Katherine Harris' seat in Congress)?

"Day-to-day, not much changed. I was essentially running all the same things I had from the time I got here. We're all rooting for him, by the way. This is a real dream of his."

How are you dealing with your own job change?

"Well, I'm really only a few days in, but I'm looking forward to it. Before I had 27 [people reporting directly to me]. I spent a lot of my time in each of the markets, but still a lot of the communication had to be done by voicemail and e-mail. Most management books will tell you that it's hard to coach people once you head north of 12 people directly reporting to you."

How do you plan to use the extra time?

"This will really let me spend half days at each of the banks, which is great. This will give me time to coach people, which is what I really love to do."

What is next for the banking industry?

"For a while there, everyone wanted their customers to not use their branch offices for basic banking. They were sending them to ATMs and electronic transfer. Things like online bill pay have changed the way banking is done. Banking is more and more convenient. But I really feel that it takes a relationship to make a customer feel connected to a bank. People may look online for their more basic checking services, but when it comes to things like investments or financial planning, they want to have a relationship."