Face to Face - May 2009

Diane Fearon

President/CEO, Bank of George, Las Vegas

Number of Employees: 33

Years in Nevada: 30

Years with Company: Founded in 2007

Describe your leadership style:

Lead by example and give people both autonomy and accountability.  Choose employees who share a commitment to integrity and excellence.

Best business advice:

Take care of your employees and they will take care of your customers.

How do you retain your best and brightest employees:

Recognition of their talent and hard work, development of their potential and rewards for their contribution to the bank’s success.

What three values do you hope to pass on to your employees?

Strong leadership, integrity and dedication to community.

What is your favorite book and why?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading George Washington on Leadership by Richard Brookhiser several months ago because I learned little known facts about our first president. His steady grace and how he recovered from the mistakes he made along the way of forging a new country are inspirational. So many of the customs and institutional foundations we have in our country now are due to his selfless service to his fellow man.

What do you like most and least about your industry?

Most – providing a professional service in a caring way allows me to make a difference for many business owners and professionals that bank with me.  Least – the misconception that if a bank turns down a loan request, that we are doing the customer a disservice.  In fact if a customer takes out a loan that they are unable to repay, the negative consequences for them are always proportionately greater than the loss the bank suffers.