Change is good, says Paul Ebisch, chief financial officer and vice president of Assemblies of God Credit Union.
"Working passionately, counting on the future to always be changing really does move me to a higher level of success," he adds.
Ebisch holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from Cameron University, and a Master of Divinity with an emphasis on cross-cultural communications from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.
After graduate school, Ebisch went to work for the Ministers Benefit Association, a retirement fund worth about $500 million. At the time, it had just a leadership change that resulted in about two-thirds of the staff leaving. "I was fortunate to be given much latitude to develop and turn it into one of the largest pension plans in the nation," Ebisch says. "Assets actually doubled within five years (because) of my instrumental leadership in building a strong team and launching a new strategy of gaining clients."
He first joined AGCU in 1998.
"Within two months of starting, I developed a plan of action to renovate the credit union into a successful, modern banking entity," he says. Helping the credit union grow, however, is not his foremost achievement.
"My proudest accomplishment is that I actually resigned my day job and struck out on a business endeavor of my own," he says. Ebisch founded Blaicol Capital Management LLC in 2004 and for a year lived on savings and startup revenues.
"The business was neither bad nor great, and I made plenty of mistakes," he says. Ebisch returned to AGCU in 2005, but the lessons he learned while running his own business stayed with him. He has private equity interests in Auxan Capital Advisors LLC, an investment advisory firm; advertising agency Boundless Creative; and is a shareholder in The System, a Paul Mitchell partner school in Springfield and Wichita, Kan. Ebisch also wrote the book "Net Worth Principle: Build Wealth Without Budgeting."
"The reality is that I was forever changed as an entrepreneur," Ebisch says. "Until you actually take that leap into the unknown and start up, you really cannot understand it. I see opportunities all the time now."
At North Point Church, Ebisch serves in multiple leadership roles, including team leader for Second Saturday, an outreach that generates donations of time and money from hundreds of volunteers for local organizations.
"I have already participated at Convoy of Hope, a Christmas event for underprivileged children from Title I Schools, Rural Compassion, Victory Mission and (Ozarks Literacy Council," he says.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
