2008 40 Under 40 Honoree: Michal Moss Early

Michal Moss Early may not have chosen her career, but she still ended up in one that suits her.

“It was never something that I decided — banking or brokerage — that I wanted to do,” says Early, private banking manager and assistant vice president at Arvest Bank. “It sort of found me.”

Early began with Arkansas-based Arvest Bank in 1999. Last year, she relocated from Joplin to Springfield to spearhead the opening of Arvest’s first Springfield branch.

She is also in charge of the Branson area, which is now part of the Springfield region.

Early does it all: hiring, educating, training, finding and buying property, marketing, advertising and public relations.

“Arvest … has really embraced wanting the Springfield market to be successful,” Early says. “It’s pretty exciting to be on the ground floor.”

In addition to leading Arvest’s foray into the Missouri Ozarks, Early counts two other accomplishments among her proudest: putting her husband through law school and passing the Series 7 registered securities representative test, something she decided to tackle on her own.

“If somebody had told me I would be a fully licensed stockbroker, I would have said they were crazy,” she says.

Early works to lead by example and considers herself a success if she has influenced

someone else to achieve.

“As a manager, you have to train people to eventually take your job. I always try to encourage people to learn as much as possible, whatever their job might be,” she says. “My motto is: Don’t stop with what I tell you. Dig deeper. Be smarter than I am.”

While in Joplin, Early served as treasurer for the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity for four years, played a large role in hiring the chapter’s first executive director and worked with Habitat ReStore.

Early has also worked with Soroptimist International, an organization of professional women that works to advance the status of women, and she stays involved with the annual Mercy Regional Health Foundation fundraiser.

Early’s future goals include opening more Arvest branches, educating the Springfield market about her company and working to incorporate community involvement with her busy professional life.

Double Play

Birth date: Feb. 27, 1980

Family: My husband of almost four years is Wade Early. Other family includes my parents, Michael and Jane Moss. My mother … gave up her whole world for her four children. Mom not only stayed home with us, she tackled the tasks of being our primary educator. I have two older brothers and one younger brother (and nieces and nephews). Also, Halle, our Chihuahua.

Philosophy to live/work by: I try to do my very best in everything I do. I try to treat everybody as a valuable person.

In a fantasy world, which professional sport would you play? Beach volleyball. I would get to hang out on the beach, play in the sun and get a great tan. What a life!

Information accurate at the time of the honor.