Getting Involved With the Society of Bank Executives
By Rose Oswald Poels
Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA) board approved WBA’s participation as a partner in the newly created Society of Bank Executives. This initiative, first brought forth by the Utah Bankers Association, includes several partner trade associations throughout the U.S. aiming to provide bank leaders with opportunities to network and further develop the skills necessary for staying ahead of our ever-changing industry.
As the banking landscape continues to rapidly evolve, it remains ever so important that banking leaders continue to develop professionally and personally. These opportunities include engaging with peers outside of our markets and ongoing programs relating to shareholders, regulators, customers, and communities.
The Society, directed by Dr. Paul Godfrey — the William and Roceil Low Professor of Business Strategy at the Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business, will officially launch in January 2023. However, the application period for the pre-launch session opens May 1, 2022. I encourage all C-suite bank executives and bank executive teams from across Wisconsin to take advantage of this unique opportunity to not only become a founding member, but to further develop important skills regarding bank operation alongside bankers from across the country. A two-year discount is available through July 30, 2022.
The annual sessions, split into two four-month programs, feature three 60–90-minute online presentations/virtual meetings that incorporate self-paced elements and one, two-day, in-person meeting aimed at expanding bankers’ networks beyond their markets. The pre-launch session, scheduled for August through November 2022, will focus bank executives on the challenge of “Trust and Team Building.”
As recent events have proved, peer networks are critical to the success of our industry. The Society hopes to assist bank leaders in establishing and utilizing networks among bankers beyond state boundaries. The two-day, in-person meeting each session is designed as a networking-focused event at which bankers around the country are able to share information, ask questions, and give (or receive) advice around strategic decision-making. These conversations may or may not be related to the specific session focus.
The Society’s program — involving study, analysis, application, and interaction with peers — is unlike any other leadership seminar. Created with bank executives in mind, the Society of Bank Executives offers opportunities to acquire and develop skills and master the “art” of leading a bank. Again, I invite every Wisconsin bank C-suite leader to take advantage of the opportunities created by the Society of Bank Executives when the application period opens May 1, 2022.
