Secondary education was what Gary Geisel studied in college, but he had no idea at the time that he would one day become CEO of a midsize bank in Maryland.
In fact, he initially turned down a job offer from a bank when he began his career.
“I wanted to be a schoolteacher,” Geisel said from his office on the top floor of the Provident Bank building in downtown Baltimore. “I got in the business byaccident. It was at the insistence of my wife that I go into a training program at the bank.”
That training program lead to his first banking job at Equibank in Pittsburgh 35 years ago.
From there, Geisel went to Equibank in Baltimore and also worked in management at Citizens Bank in Laurel.
In 1997, he was named group manager of Community Banking for Provident Bank.
In January 2001, when Geisel was appointed president and chief operating officer at Provident, then-CEO Peter Martin said in a statement: “He is a skilled and experienced banker with strong personal and professional roots in the communities we serve.”
Geisel was appointed Provident Bank CEO in April 2003.
Under his tenure, Provident marched into Northern Virginia with stand-alone branches and branches located in Shopper?s Food and Pharmacy stores.
Geisel also led Provident?s Central Virginia expansion with the bank?s acquisition of Southern Financial Bank in 2003.
The grocery store branches, which include branches in Maryland Super Fresh stores as well Pennsylvania and New Jersey ATM locations, are part of Geisel?s community banking efforts.
“Sixty of our 162 locations are in stores,” Geisel said.
“We call ourselves the right size,” he added.
If a bank is too small, it can?t handle the banking needs of commercial businesses and if it?s too big, the bank losses that personal touch that is so important to personal banking, explains Geisel.
Peter Christensen, CEO of Prime Performance Inc., a consulting firm for financial institutions, said he met Geisel when he worked at Equitable Bank. He calls Geisel “unique” among CEOs.
“While many CEOs are focused exclusively on the next quarter and do it at the cost of employees an people relations, Gary has done it by building a team commitment,” Christensen said. “Youwould be amazed at how many of the bankers in the Maryland market respect and know him. He has been their mentor.”
Gary N. Geisel
» First job: Working in Pittsburgh steel mills
» Education/credentials: BS, Edinboro University, MBA, Duquesne University, graduate of Stonier Graduate School of Banking
» Best job perk: Great service at the dry cleaners due to the amount of clothes I bring in.
» Number of e-mails a day: 30
» Number of voice mails a day: Less than 5
» Most essential Web sites visit regularly: None
» Career objective: Make Provident Bank the region?s top performing bank.
» Favorite gadget: Navigation system in my car
» Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
» Birth date: November 2, 1948
» Original aspiration: To become an architect
