PYSK: Joe Henderson, President, Central Bank of Boone County

Job description:

Leader of the largest bank in town.

Years lived in Columbia/mid-Missouri:

Four years, although I have been traveling to the Lake for 20.

Original hometown:

Urbana, Illinois.

Education:

Undergrad: University of Illinois. MBA: Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Favorite volunteer/community activity:

Being a member of the Mizzou Venture Mentoring Service. Formed last year, it’s a team consulting service focused on supporting entrepreneurs who need advice from mentors with extensive business experience and successful track records. The service is offered without charge and is modeled after similar organizations around the country. The exciting aspect of participating is seeing the dynamic creativity of our local community and helping business owners move their companies forward.

Professional background:

Career banker, since 1977.

A favorite recent project:

Working to raise money for the Boys and Girls Clubs expansion. [Executive Director] Valorie Livingston is doing a great job, and this expansion is critically needed. Come help us!

A Columbia businessperson I admire and why: Bo Fraser, former chairman of CBBC, for his compassion toward his employees and community.

Biggest lesson learned in business:

Pay attention to your customers first, and that a successful business requires 100 percent of your attention.

Why I’m passionate about my job:

I like helping people accomplish their financial goals, but I am always focused on creating a structure to solve a business owner’s needs. I get to work on a different deal every day. Additionally, my job gives me the opportunity to learn about a variety of industries, and I come in contact with highly motivated, successful people.

Why I’m passionate about my company:

The CBBC culture that has developed over time is amazing! Earlier in my career, I worked for a company that had a very weak culture because it suffered from a lack of leadership and vision. Trying to go in and create the environment needed to grow a floundering company was the hardest thing I have had to accomplish. Coming to work at CBBC has been great because of our long, successful history and a very strong culture of commitment to our customers and the community.

If I weren’t doing this for a living, I would:

Be working in a national park.

What people should know about this profession:

The industry is consolidating, but community banks are very relevant when you want local people problem solving for you.

The next challenge facing my industry:

The speed of technological changes is ramping up and forcing banks to evaluate their customer strategies. Now, we compete with major software companies who are attracted to the banking space. The advent of phones managing all aspects of your financial life creates pressure on all banks to determine which apps are most relevant to their clients. Online loan processes have sped up approvals and funding. Person-to-person payments have begun to reduce the need for checks. Lastly, the impact of social media on people’s choices for doing business is big — staying upfront and significant for that customer segment creates a lot of opportunities to evaluate.

Greatest strength:

Patience and a preference to work on teams.

Greatest weakness:

My TaylorMade driver!

What I do for fun:

Play golf with my wife.

Family:

My wife of 37 years and my dad, who is 93 and lives at Lenoir Woods.

Favorite place in Columbia:

Mizzou Arena. MIZ!

My next professional goal:

Prepare the next generation of management for Central Bank of Boone County. I have a great team, but I am always looking for our next addition.

How you would like to impact the Columbia community:

Columbia has great momentum right now. If we can help create a sustainable business environment conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship, then we can continue to ride a wave of success, and all will benefit. I am also committed to and support the efforts of our public schools’ leadership to make Columbia a recognized community for public education. Those two efforts will have the greatest impact on Columbia’s growth in the future.

Accomplishment I’m most proud of:

Personal: my marriage. Business: I helped build the first Ronald McDonald House in St. Louis.

Most people don’t know that I:

Read three to five books at a time. I have a lot of partially finished books on the shelf.