Pub. 9 2019-2020 Issue 3

6 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S www.coloradobankers.org What does it mean to be a banker today? Those of you reading this column have a good idea of the variety of jobs held by the 2 million women and men who work for America’s banks. But many would-be bankers don’t. That lack of awareness can be an obstacle to recruiting talent in an increasingly tight job market, particularly among younger generations whose “bank” is their smart phone and who therefore may have less personal exposure to actual bank employees. To address that, ABA’s Emerging Leaders Council recommended a series of profiles of real-life bankers in a range of roles and at various stages in their careers. They believed that no one can be a better ambassador for careers in banking than those who are currently finding success and fulfillment in banking roles. They were so right. Visit aba.com/CareersInBanking and you’ll see what I mean. bank·er noun [ bang-ker ] Redefining ‘Banker’ BY ROB NICHOLS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION