Pub. 3 2013 Issue 1

8 www.azbankers.org B O RN INTO A FAMILY OF MIGRANT WORKERS, BENITO ALMANZA STARTED TENDING GRAPE FIELDS IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA BEFORE he entered kindergarten. “All we knew was how to work in the fields,” he said. They each earned $1.50 an hour. His grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico to work the fields. His parents met each other there, and it’s how Almanza met his wife, Rosa. But Almanza’s parents had bigger plans for him and his two brothers. When Almanza was 6 years old, the family jumped off the farm labor truck and settled into their first home so the children could get a solid education. From the beginning, Almanza was good with numbers. When he was get- ting a haircut at the barber shop one day, he told his dad he wanted to be- come a barber, because $8 per haircut was a lot more lucrative than $1.50 per hour in the fields. He learned quickly how the chil- dren of migrant workers were cast in a different light. When he entered high school, all of his friends were assigned to college preparatory counselors, complete with college prep courses. Al- manza, on the other hand, was placed on a vocational education track. His mother confronted the principal, saying she wanted her son in college prep. While the principal wouldn’t budge on the counselor, Almanza at least was allowed to take the prepara- tory classes. To this day, it takes great strength to maintain eye contact with his clients, he said. That doesn’t bother Earl Petznick, CEO of Pinal Feeding Co. in Mari- copa, who has done business with Almanza for nearly 20 years. “What impresses me most about Benito is he always seems to have a positive attitude about things,” Petznick said. Knowing the farming business is invaluable, he said. “He’s a great guy and a good friend,” Petznick said. Ron Lopez, chairman of Phoenix International Consultants LLC in Phoenix, banks with Almanza and has become very close to him over the years. “If everybody had Benito’s heart and soul and viewed the world through his pair of eyes, this would be a great world,” Lopez said. “Where there’s bad, he sees good; where there’s de- spair, he sees hope.” Almanza is godfather to Lopez’s granddaughter. Jose Cardenas, general counsel for Arizona State University, said Almanza is one of Arizona’s top citizens. “He’s there when you need him,” Cardenas said. “He’s terribly busy; he travels the country all the time. Whenever he can, he gives of himself generously. I consider him a personal friend and a real role model.” EXECUTIVE PROFILE: Benito Almanza Bank of America By ANGELA GONZALES He went on to earn an MBA at Stan- ford University and then a law degree from Santa Clara University. His first job out of college 35 years ago was in lending with Bank of America. At first, he wanted nothing to do with the farm industry — he’d had enough of that life as a child. But he quickly realized that he connected easily with farmers because he knew things about the industry that most other bankers didn’t. “Farmers like to talk to people who know their business,” he said. So he cul- tivated a specialty in agricultural lending. But one thing was ingrained in him as a child that he still has trouble with today: looking other people in the eye. Eye contact was prohibited as a farm laborer. His aunts drilled that into him as a young boy. The goal of a migrant worker is to be invisible, they taught him; don’t draw attention to yourself. Q Benito Almanzo | continued on page 11