W Brit C. HOLLOPETER ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT, RETAIL LOAN OPERATIONS MANAGER – LAKE CITY BANK, WARSAW What drew you to banking? I love math and solving equations, which goes hand in hand with the complexity of the work my team does with loans. I love the challenge that each day brings working in banking. What recent professional challenge taught you an important lesson, and how did you overcome it? The longtime leader of our retail loan operations team – and a mentor to me – recently passed away after a long health battle. There’s nothing that fully prepares you for a loss like that, but rallying as a team to continue operating at a high level to support our front-line bankers and customers is how we build upon her dedication and the impact she made. How do you stay innovative and forward-thinking in an ever-evolving industry? The world of financial services is constantly evolving. We have to keep looking forward and prioritize creating efficiency in our processes. Increasing efficiency and speed of delivery benefits our customers and our teams within the bank. In your opinion, what is the most exciting trend or development in banking right now? There’s a lot of discussion around artificial intelligence, and from a loan operations perspective, I think there will be some exciting enhancements down the road that could add a lot of efficiency to our processes. We have an AI Committee at Lake City Bank that is dedicated to studying and identifying potential AI-driven solutions that can help us across the bank. Obviously, with anything related to AI, we have to approach these solutions carefully and conduct our due diligence before implementation. What advice would you give to someone just starting their career in banking? Learn as much as you can from those around you. Working with an experienced team is one of the great things about Lake City Bank, as we have team members who have been with the bank for 20, 30 and even 40 years in some cases. I wouldn’t be where I’m at today if it wasn’t for the time I spent learning from those more experienced colleagues in the bank. If you weren’t a banker, what would you do for a living? I’ve always thought being a plane pilot would be a lot of fun, but realistically I think teaching math would be a very fulfilling career. Who or what inspires you? I would say my team since I strive to support them and be the best leader I can be for them. Great leaders must genuinely care about the success of everyone on their team, and I want to show my team every day that I care about their success. My team truly inspires me to be better every day. I BANKER PROFILE 28 HOOSIERBANKER
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