Pub. 7 2017 Issue 2

4 www.azbankers.org 1. What path led you to banking? Did you always know you wanted to be in the financial field? I graduated from college with an accounting degree but had little desire to enter the public accounting profession. I also played tennis in college so for a couple of years I enjoyed being a tennis teaching pro. Realizing the need to put my accounting degree to use before it totally wasted away, I started learning about bank- ing from my brother-in-law who had been in the business several years. This led me to First Bank of Minneapolis (now US Bank) where I started out in their commercial lending training program. 2. How has banking changed for the better in the last 10 years? What does it take to be a successful banker now as opposed to 10 years ago? As with most industries, technology has dramatically impacted banking. Technology has changed how clients interact with the bank, making mobile banking the common way to handle most banking transactions. This convenience has also brought on a new level of cyber security risk, which is arguably the biggest risk banks face today. The skill set of a successful banker today has not changed a great deal from 10 years ago. However, as our business has become more com- moditized the individuals who understand the difference between being a banker vs being a lender will have the greatest opportunity for success. 3. What is the culture at Bank of Arizona? Has it always been that way? We are part of an organization that has over 4,000 employees, however, there are only 115 that reside in Arizona. This allows us to have great support from the home office yet operate in Ari- zona with the feel of a small independent bank. We try to deliver big bank products with the high-touch service of a small bank. 4. Where would you live if you didn’t live here? My wife and I have lived in Arizona for 13 years now and have no desire to leave. However, our children and grandchildren live in Getting to Know Dave Ralston Our new AzBA Chairman of the Board….Dave Ralston, CEO, Bank of Arizona