2018 40 Under 40 Yearbook: Mark Bybee, 43

Then: Senior vice president and team leader, Commerce Bank
Now: Executive vice president and senior lending officer, OakStar Bank

Back in 2007, Mark Bybee talked freely about his goal to become a bank president. While he’s moved closer – now an executive vice president at OakStar Bank – the president’s post remains elusive. But it’s not forgotten.

“I still might be a bank president someday, you never know,” he says with a smile.

Bybee joined OakStar the year after his 40 Under 40 honor and, in that time, the senior lending officer helped grow the bank from one branch and $80 million in assets to 14 branches and soon to be $1 billion in assets, he says. He’s worked at OakStar almost 10 years, his longest stint at any bank.

He views his family differently, too: “My wife Angie and I have gone from worrying about my young children getting hurt at recess to having two teenagers – enough said,” Bybee jokes.