One-on-One
MICHELLE COONS — REGIONAL PRESIDENT, NEW MEXICO, WaFd BANK
Michelle Coons is big on community involvement — very big.
Over her 41-year career in banking at four different institutions, she has simultaneously volunteered for nearly two dozen boards and commissions, often in leadership positions. How has she managed to find the time? “You have to carve it out,” said Coons, WaFd’s New Mexico regional president.
She always thought the stock market was her passion, but “banking just kind of fell into my lap.”
That happened when she landed a parttime job at what is now Wells Fargo Bank while she was attending the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management.
Later, she was accepted into the bank’s management training program and decided to pursue a career in commercial lending at a time when there were not many women in the field.
The career, she said, has suited her well and meshes with her outside public service duties because community involvement is something “banking always embraces.”
Among her involvement has been board memberships on the UNM Foundation, United Way of Central New Mexico, New Mexico Spaceport Authority and Dream Spring (formerly Accion).
“I think it’s so important to give back to your community,” she said. “I feel so blessed that I’ve been given so many opportunities.”
What’s the most important part of your job right now?
“I would say one thing that I feel is more unique with WaFd than I have seen at previous banks is that we have extremely long tenure and longevity within the team. I see my primary responsibility as continuing to grow these teams, to continue to grow my heir apparent, whenever that will be. When I interviewed for this position, three of my direct (subordinates) had applied for it, too. I had an experience in my past at one point where someone at Bank of the West had interviewed for a new position, and I was hired over that person. Within three days, he took the entire commercial team with him, (leaving the bank). When I first met with the three who had interviewed for this position, I said, ‘My primary responsibility, and I’ll commit to you, is to help you gain
the skills and experience to have my job.’”
What is it that has kept you in banking for so long?
“I love interacting with clients. I love going out and bringing in new business.”
How do you spend your free time?
“The community involvement takes some time, and then I dabble. I try to golf a little, ski a little. I grew up being a bird hunter, and we have a family farm in Nebraska that was really bought specifically so we could all bird hunt and deer hunt and elk hunt. My husband is from the East Coast and is not a hunter, so I have always been the one who was there with my son as he was getting his hunter safety certificate and shooting his first turkey and first deer.”
What has made you successful?
“Tenacity. One time … I had a chief credit officer tell me, ‘Michelle, to you, ‘no’ means ‘find another way.’ Through the years, banking has had consolidations or changes or a customer has a tragedy or something you weren’t expecting. I think instead of getting emotional about it, I feel one of my strengths is ‘OK, if A doesn’t work, then we’ll do B. If B doesn’t work, we’ll do C.’ I’ve been teased that I’m unflappable.”
What stands out for you among your nonprofit involvement?
“One that comes to mind first is Accion, which today is Dream Spring. I have followed the organization since it started. I served 12 years as board chair and then treasurer for a number of years, watching it grow from this little New Mexico entity. Being that microlender is so important. These are loans that banks can’t necessarily make. There’s a lot of individuals that just aren’t comfortable with banks or are intimidated by banks. I thought that was so critical. And they continue to grow.”
What’s a difficult thing for you?
“I would say the regulatory … front has really changed … over the last five years. There is so much more scrutiny on what we need to know to open a checking account. It’s almost more difficult than getting a loan at times, because we are expected to be kind of the anti-money laundering place of the world right now. And we need to know our customers so well that we should be able to know what was the source of the funds, if there’s any wire out, what is the purpose, and it’s so different to clients that it’s a little upsetting to them. But if we can’t explain to a regulator something that’s going on, and if they’re doing transactions that look a little unusual or may have high concentrations of cash, we are expected to know.”
Pet peeves?
“Polarization. I think leaders should be figuring out ways to work together and finding the path to find the items they can agree on. The polarization is just an extreme pet peeve for me. I even made it one of my passwords awhile back.’ Polarization drives me crazy,’ plus I added a few characters.”
What are words of wisdom that you live by?
“Community involvement has really been a driver for me. The Dalai Lama had a quote that said, ‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.’ I need to remember that (for) my employees who are afraid to make that first step.”