Pub. 3 2013 Issue 2

26 www.azbankers.org Please Welcome Theresa Kleinlein Please welcome the Arizona Bankers Association’s new Director of Member Services, Theresa Kleinlein. Upon graduating from The University of Texas in Austin, Theresa began her career at Dell Computer Corporation. When she wasn’t watching the DOW she managed the Shell Oil global account and worked alongside Michael Dell in Corporate Communications to promote the Dell brand internationally. She moved on to Chicago where she advised the largest PR firms and public companies (Baxter, Abbott, United Airlines, etc…) as a Media and Crisis Manage- ment Consultant for PR Newswire (UBM:London Stock Exchange). Theresa moved to Arizona to improve her golf game and now has two daughters, 5 and 8 years old. She is a yoga instructor in her spare time and is thrilled to be part of the AzBA team! Z EXECUTIVE PROFILE Getting to Know Lynne Herndon – City President of BBVA Compass I N OUR LAST ISSUE WE PROFILED BENITO ALMANZA, ARIZONA PRESIDENT, BANK OF AMERICA. WE HAD SUCH A FAVORABLE RESPONSE THAT WE DECIDED WE WOULD CONTINUE THE TREND AND SHOWCASE THE LIFESTYLES OF OTHER ARIZONA banking personalities. In March, our board Chairman, Lynne Herndon, City President of BBVA Compass, sat down with Theresa Klein- lein for an impromptu interview. Read below and see if her answers surprise you as much as they did us! How would you describe your responsibilities with BBVA Compass? As Phoenix City President for BBVA Compass since 2008, I oversee the business lending activities in Phoenix for com- mercial lending and commercial real estate lending including treasury management and deposits. Total loans outstanding under management are $950MM. What are some of the things you find most enjoyable about your career? Banking allows me to use the skills that I enjoy most. I genu- inely enjoy sitting with a commercial client, understanding the company’s business needs and crafting a value added proposal to assist the company in reaching its goals. Being a trusted partner is very rewarding. What are some of the things you find most challenging about your career? Being a banker during this most recent economic crisis was challenging. It called upon many leadership skills such as being a motivator, fair negotiator, risk manager, advocate and multi- tasker. Now that we have come through the crisis, the banking environment is once again very competitive. Balancing sales and risk management will be critical to bank’s maintaining healthy capital positions. What do you see as the biggest challenges for the banking industry today? Bankers are working every day to regain trust and cred- ibility from our clients and prospects. We are also working to balance the regulatory requirements and associated costs with our ability to offer products and services that our clients need in all markets, small and large. Banks are in business to make loans but also need to make loans with acceptable risk. Through communication and networking in our communities, I am confident that we will be able to assure our clients and prospects of the banks’ strong commitments to doing business in our communities. How has your bank’s membership in the Arizona Bankers Association benefited your bank? Membership in AZBA has afforded me the chance to meet bankers from all over Arizona and work together on issues affecting all banks in Arizona and in some cases across the country. Having a CEO as talented as Paul Hickman and a very dedicated staff working to keep us all current on issues af- fecting our industry is a huge benefit to all our member banks. Favorites: Music I attend about 20 concerts a year with my husband Lang. We are Rock n, Roll fans, 80s preferably, and travel to see our favorite bands including Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, ACDC, Jimmy Buffet, Def Leperd, Foreigner, Styx and the Rolling Stones. Hobbies Born in the state of Alabama, by far my favorite hobby is college football, and to be more specific SEC football and The University of Alabama football. ROLL TIDE! Thanks, Lynne…and Rock On! Z