10 Hoosier Banker May 2015 Gregory Maxwell, 64, is president and chief executive officer of Farmers State Bank, Mentone. He was named to his position in 2006 after 25 years of prior experience in Bluffton, including positions as president of The Old First National Bank and agricultural executive with National City Bank. He began his banking career in 1972 with Rush County National Bank. Currently Maxwell serves as northeast region director of the board of directors of the Indiana Bankers Association. He also is a member of the Warsaw Rotary Club and is immediate past chairman of the Kosciusko Economic Development Corp. He is a graduate of Ball State University and of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin, and a COVER STORY Greg Maxwell works primarily out of the Warsaw office of Farmers State Bank, Mentone. Greg Maxwell: Fine-Tuned Banker member of the IBA Forty Year Club. Hoosier Banker recently interviewed Greg Maxwell in his office in Warsaw. How does your role as president/ CEO of Farmers State Bank mesh with the responsibilities of your management team? “My role is being supportive of our team and keeping the entirety of the group focused on our strategy, with guidance from our board of directors. I am blessed with a great team of executives, each with vast experience and technical knowledge of their areas. “I am supportive mainly through one-on-one communication. Each member of our team has a distinct function, so they don’t necessarily communicate with each other on a regular basis. The IT department has a different focus than the credit department or branch administration, for example. “However they all communicate frequently with me, so I act as the central hub. The first thing I do every Monday morning is make contact with each team member. Then, as needed, we all meet together, often by call-in number. “Even though we’re a small bank, we operate in a geographically dispersed area, with five locations spread throughout Kosciusko County. We have a standard call-in system that we can use for meetings and committees. “Our management team members are: Mike Walters, ag banker and sales manager; Lindy Breeden, chief credit officer and market manager of our Mentone location; Rebecca Woodward, branch administrator and market manager of our east center branch in Warsaw; Mike Shade, information security officer and IT head of operations; and Jim McFadden, our chief financial officer. “Most have more than one role, since we are a small bank. Also as a small bank, we face the profitability challenge of having to provide compliance, IT and all the other regulatory requirements that a much larger bank provides. To justify our cost structure, we make sure we are continuing to grow our financial value. “We are a high-performing bank, thanks to outstanding staff and very strong direction from our board. Out of 120 banks in Indiana, we’re ranked 18th overall, fourth in asset quality. I am very proud of our team.” What drew you to banking as a career? “I was extremely lucky, because I had no particular career plan. Shortly after I came out of Ball State University, I got a call from a friend who worked for Rush County National Bank in Rushville. The bank was looking for someone to help in the installment loan department as a collector. “So I joined the bank and started out in collections, which is where everybody started at that time. I went through general training to gain experience as a bookkeeper and a teller, and then I had the opportunity to start making loans.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==