People You Should Know: Tony Mayfield
Community Bank President – UMB Bank
JOB DESCRIPTION: Market leader and Senior Lender for the Columbia region.
AGE: 41 YEARS LIVED IN COLUMBIA: 2.5 (1992-1994) during graduate school. I have been back in town since April 2009.
ORIGINAL HOMETOWN: Jefferson City
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degrees in economics and business administration, William Jewell College; master’s degree in business administration, University of Missouri-Columbia.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Board chair of Triality Inc., a Kansas City-based organization that helps people with disabilities; former vice chair/board member of Hillcrest Transitional Housing, a Kansas City-based organization that helps move families from homelessness to self-sufficiency; Liberty Chamber of Commerce; Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce (Kansas City North); Clay County Economic Development Council; and Platte County Economic Development Council
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: 18 years in commercial banking
A COLUMBIA BUSINESSPERSON I ADMIRE AND WHY: Norm Stewart – I watched him as I was growing up in Jefferson City. Coach Stewart’s work ethic, integrity, and his unyielding quest for excellence were attributes that I have tried to incorporate into my own personal and professional life.
WHY I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT MY JOB: Banking is not about money; it is about people. I try to live by the principle of being people-focused, whether it is with our customers, community members, my family, or the team at UMB. I treat my smallest customers the same as my largest customers, and that balance has yielded some wonderful relationships over the years. I still have contact with many former customers to keep up with their families and accomplishments. This is a relationship business.
IF I WEREN’T DOING THIS FOR A LIVING, I WOULD: …be a professional cyclist. I love the teamwork, camaraderie, and passion for the sport. It is an individual sport, but you cannot win without a great team. To me, that translates well into everyday life.
BIGGEST CAREER OBSTACLE I’VE OVERCOME AND HOW: Myself. My own fears, weaknesses and past mistakes have at times hindered me from being at my creative best. I try to have key people in my life provide constant feedback in order for me to honestly evaluate my strengths and weaknesses. There really is freedom in learning the truth about one’s self.
A FAVORITE RECENT PROJECT: Moving my family back to Columbia has been the most rewarding thing I’ve done lately. My two girls love to be with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in Harrisburg and Jefferson City. It has been a very rewarding past six months getting them transplanted back close to their extended family.
WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PROFESSION: Banking is about relationships. People should interact with their banker as a trusted partner and counselor. If they don’t have that type of relationship with their banker, they should search until they find it.
WHAT I DO FOR FUN: Spending time with my family, cycling, reading, playing guitar and singing, roasting coffee, and watching football.
FAMILY: Cori (married 15 years), Emma (9 and in fourth grade) and Clara (5 and in kindergarten).
FAVORITE PLACE IN COLUMBIA: Lakota Coffeehouse. It began a year or so before I started my MBA in 1994, and I grew to love their coffee. I try to stop by there at least a couple of times a week now that I’m back.
ACCOMPLISHMENT I’M MOST PROUD OF: My relationship with my wife, Cori, and the beautiful little girls we are entrusted with, Emma and Clara.
MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT I: went to college to be a vocal performance major with a goal of becoming a professional tenor. I raced four marathons (including the Boston Marathon) and have finished the Pike’s Peak Ascent ½ marathon twice. I play three musical instruments.