A Conversation With ... Robin Robeson

What does your role as Guaranty Bank’s chief operating officer entail?
The areas I’m responsible for currently are all of our retail banking centers and retail operations, our corporate services functions (and) marketing and human resources. From a 30,000-foot view, the overarching objective is to meet the banking needs of the communities that we serve. My role here is really focused on top-line revenue growth, growing relationships and making sure that our bankers have the products, services and resources they need to accomplish their goals.

With just a few weeks on the job, have you identified specific goals?
I’m still assessing that, but what I know is that technology has really leveled the playing field, and it has allowed community banks to compete not just on service – which is what community banks are known for – but (also) on product. Products like Internet banking and mobile banking will continue to be a focus. Our team views GBankMo.com as being the equivalent of a banking center, and we’re just really beginning to tap into the opportunities that exist there.

Does online and mobile expansion take the pressure off of expanding the footprint of physical branches?
I don’t necessarily think it takes the pressure off, but we know that different customers have different needs from us. What a Gen-Y customer may expect from the bank may be very different than what our baby boomer customers expect from us. I don’t believe Internet banking and those things are necessarily going to take the place of brick-and-mortar banking centers, but I think (they are) going to allow us to be able to attract and retain a much broader focus of customers. So we need to have both (the) banking centers as well as that online presence. (Since I’ve joined Guaranty) we have not spoken about any expansion of brick-and-mortar branches. We currently have nine – six in Greene County and three in Christian County, as well as four loan-production offices, all in southwest Missouri.

What is your background in banking and other fields?
I started in banking as a teller. While I was in college, I worked part-time at First National Bank in Columbia. When I graduated from Mizzou in 1988, I was hired into the management training program with Boatmen’s Bank in St. Louis. Really, since 1986, all but about four years of my career has been in the financial services industry. I’ve worked in banking in all lines of business: retail, commercial, wealth management and money management. Most people in Springfield know me for the 10 years I spent with Commerce Bank … on the front line and in administrative roles. I also spent three years in the technology industry, with Duck Creek Technologies (as) vice president of corporate services. I was responsible for all of the administrative functions of that company and greatly expanded my technology knowledge base. I most recently spent the last year with CoxHealth in a financial role, so I had some great experience there in the health care industry.

What drew you back to banking – and to your current job?
What drew me to Guaranty, quite simply, is the people, and the fact that Guaranty is a locally headquartered community bank. I’m really impressed with the level of experience that we have on the team, and I believe we have a great foundation on which to build. And I think this role is a great fit with my past experience. The culture and the core values really align well with my own personal core values. It wasn’t that I was necessarily looking to get back into banking, but when this opportunity presented itself, it seemed like a great opportunity (and) a great fit. I know several people (at Guaranty Bank), some of whom I’ve actually worked with in the past at Commerce (or) been on local boards with. We just have histories together.

What are some challenges for Guaranty Bank and the industry?
The overall direction of the economy continues to be a challenge, as well as the unknown – the regulatory burden that banks are facing. One of the smartest things Guaranty Bank did pre-recession, was to begin building out a full-scope risk management department (that) is enabling us to handle the increasingly complex regulatory environment. The regulatory burden – and what that will be post-recession – we don’t even know at this point.