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BUSINESS JOURNAL.
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Published April 2005
Moving
Cascade forward
Carol Nelson has led bank’s successful transformation
from thrift to commercial institution
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| Snohomish County
Business Journal/JOHN WOLCOTT Two of Carol Nelson’s top executives at Cascade Bank, LeAnne Frank (left) and Debbie McLeod (right), formerly with her at Bank of America, provide core leadership for Cascade Bank that has made it one of the state’s top success stories in transforming a decades-old financial thrift institution into a full-service commercial bank. |
By
John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor
When Carol Nelson came to Cascade Bank as president and CEO early in 2001, people expected her to make changes, big changes.
The bank, after all, wanted to shed the savings and loan association image it had polished since it was founded in Everett in 1916. It was time for the successful thrift institution that specialized in home mortgages to venture into the crowded, competitive marketplace of commercial banking.
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Bank’s growth catches national attention Today’s Cascade Bank is a far different financial institution than when it was established in 1916 in Everett as Cascade Savings and Loan Association. Granted its commercial bank charter in 2001, Cascade has expanded its reach into communities in many areas of the Puget Sound region. At the close of 2004, the bank had 16 branches in Snohomish and King counties, including Everett, Lynnwood, Marysville, Smokey Point, Issaquah, Clearview, Woodinville, Lake Stevens, Bellevue and Snohomish. In May, the 17th Cascade Bank branch is slated to open in Silver Lake. The bank’s parent company, Cascade Financial Corp., purchased Issaquah Bancshares Inc. last June, with branches in Issaquah and North Bend operating as Issaquah Bank. During 2004, the bank and Cascade Financial reported an increase in net profits of almost 12.4 percent, a 14 percent increase in its quarterly cash dividend, and total loans growing 39.8 percent over 2003. Revenues in 2004 over a year earlier were up 12.8 percent to $37 million, with assets reaching $1.15 billion. Outstanding shares totaled 9.6 million. Such growth has led U.S. Banker magazine to rank Cascade Bank 39th on a roster of the top 200 publicly traded community banks for 2004. The magazine also has honored Nelson, selecting her as “one of 25 Women to Watch” in U.S. banking circles in 2003 and one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking in 2004, ranked at No. 21. |
But no one was prepared for how big those changes would be when this 24-year-veteran with SeaFirst Bank and its new parent company, Bank of America, arrived in Everett.
Although Nelson was happy with her role as senior vice president and regional executive for Bank of America’s northern region, overseeing 42 branches from north Seattle to the Canadian border, she found herself attracted to the tantalizing opportunity to guide Cascade Bank through uncharted waters to new levels of success.
The corporate recruiter who had surprised her with a telephone call spoke of challenges, rewards and opportunities that the goal-oriented Nelson found too attractive to resist.
Her acceptance by Snohomish County’s business community over the past four years, and the local, regional and national recognition she has garnered for the bank’s progress, describe her successes well.
Brent Stewart, former United Way of Snohomish County president, has called Nelson “very hard-charging (but with) an incredible amount of warmth. ... She is one of the most talented business leaders in the community.”
Frontier Bank CEO John Dickson once said Nelson’s leadership “drastically improved” Cascade Bank’s “mediocre performance ratios” as the bank struggled to transform itself into a full-service commercial bank.
Cascade Bank clients Brett and Brian Olson, owners of Alfy’s Pizza restaurants in the county, were impressed that Nelson visited their family business in person shortly after arriving at the bank early in 2001.
It didn’t take long for customers, competitors and community groups to recognize that a bright, hard-working, personable business woman had arrived in their midst — and that things were never going to be the same again at Cascade Bank.
Settling in as president and CEO, and soon moving into those same roles with the parent company, Cascade Financial Corp., Nelson began making her influence felt, offering ideas, suggestions and directions that made sense for moving Cascade Bank forward as it morphed into its new persona.
Soon after she arrived at Cascade Bank, she added two new executive vice presidents to her top staff — LeAnne Frank, as chief administrative officer, and Debbie McLeod to head retail banking.
The three had worked very successfully together at Bank of America, energizing each other because “we share the same philosophy, vision and work ethic. … Our strengths complement each other, and we (share) mutual respect,” said Frank, who oversees operations, human resources, commercial loan documentation, loan servicing, information services and “quality of service” at the bank.
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In
Focus: Carol Nelson’s positive attitude, professional commitment, outgoing personality and deeply rooted work ethic are key elements to her success story at Cascade Bank, just as important as her goals and ideas for the bank’s growth. In a statement that modestly plays down her well-known penchant for multi-tasking in her banking, community service and family life, she calls herself “rather two-dimensional.” “Most of my time is focused on either the bank or my family. I do take time each workday morning to visit the gym to work out an hour a day — it’s a great stress reliever and helps me to jump-start my day,” she said. Weekends usually find her on the sidelines rooting for her sons, ages 15 and 11, who are involved in a variety of athletics. Her whole family, including husband Ken, enjoys skiing, generally traveling to Stevens Pass when snow is plentiful, something they’ve missed doing this year. Each winter, for a family break, the Nelsons head to Sun Peaks in Canada for more skiing. Ken, also a former Bank of America executive, has added what Carol calls “a big plus for the family” by leaving the business world to care for their boys on the home-front, providing home schooling and support for their sports activities. A third-generation Japanese-American, Carol spent the early part of her life in Mississippi, where her parents were farm laborers. At age 8, when her father died, her mother moved the family to Eastern Washington to be nearer to relatives. The Kobukes were fascinating to the people of Quincy, she once said, “this pack of Japanese kids who all spoke with southern accents.” After a later move to Seattle, her mother opened a flower shop on Fourth Avenue, giving all of the children working and business experience as they grew up. Ironically, as a teen-ager, Carol was the only one of the seven children in the family to have her own bank account. She said the cultural values of her Japanese roots were much the same as in many immigrant families in America, values that included a strong work ethic, a respect for education, an inner drive to build a better life and a spirit of humility for one’s accomplishments. Her education accomplishments include a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in business administration, both from Seattle University. |
McLeod, who watches over Cascade Bank’s growing number of branches, residential lending and the Cascade Service Center, said she enjoys working with Nelson because “she has high expectations … for results but at the same time, she’s supportive, loyal and takes time to recognize our team’s accomplishments. … She’s open to new ideas and cares about employees, … (knows how to) identify strengths in people and gives them opportunities to advance in their careers. … Carol likes to win, but she’s able to have fun at the same time.”
Asked how Nelson maintains her family and cultural value of “humility” with all of the accolades she has had bestowed on her in the past four years at Cascade Bank, she smiled and said she “simply reflects the praise back on the bank and its accomplishments and those who worked for them.”
“They do have fun here, and there’s a cycle of winning,” Nelson said. “… We start out with stretch goals we believe we can do, work hard to get there, provide accountability, measure performance against our goals, then stop and celebrate our achievements — then we start the cycle again.”
If people are not doing well, she said, it’s often because they don’t have the proper tools or training to succeed.
“So we offer help, coaching and leadership lessons. … When they do achieve their goals, and they do, we stop and celebrate. … When everyone wins, the bank wins,” Nelson said. “That’s why people feel good about working here.”
Each year, those who have contributed exceptional service to the bank also are recognized with special events, such as an overnight trip to Alderbrook Inn for dinner and dancing, she said.
As for volunteering in the community, it’s part of Nelson’s makeup, something she began doing when she started her banking career. She has instilled that trait not only in her own family but also among the bank staff.
“In my own youth I had to struggle to put myself through college,” she said. “And I remember how hard I had to work to get started in my career.”
Being of service to her community is part of the mindset of being of service to the bank’s customers, she said.
The bank’s newest service venture is providing personalized banking services and one-stop financial shopping for women business owners and professionals. Nelson said she believes they are a major force in the local economy, so the bank has made a point of focusing on their needs in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett region.
Formed a year ago, the Cascade Bank Women’s Financial Group offers a suite of products and services and an approach to banking designed to address the needs and decision-making styles of what Nelson and her staff see as a very important group, including business owners with at least five years of success and professional women with responsibility for managing wealth for themselves as prime candidates.
“Women in business process financial information differently than men,” Nelson said. “They want more detail, they analyze things differently, and we’re being sensitive to that.”
What’s next for Cascade Bank?
“Opening more southern branches along the I-5 corridor in rapidly growing areas, particularly in south King County,” she said. “We also plan to double the size of our bank by 2010. With a strong board of directors and staff, we think we will accomplish that.”
There also are plans for a significant change in marketplace branding, but that chapter will have to wait for the bank’s launching of the new promotion, Nelson said.
© 2005 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA
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