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PNC's Ted Schmidt: The 'Banker' Comes of Age
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Ted Schmidt’s four siblings just knew he should pursue a career in banking. Whenever they played Monopoly in their home in North Jackson, “I was always the banker,” he recalls.
In addition, “I was always good with figures,” Schmidt says. Mathematics came easily at Jackson-Milton High School and Youngstown State University where he majored in accounting.
As he marks his silver anniversary in banking, the president of the Youngstown region of PNC Bank reflected on what’s changed, what hasn’t and the future of banking.
Technology has brought about the biggest change in how bankers deliver their services, Schmidt says, but the fundamentals still apply.
Successful bankers “have close relationships with their clients,” he says, “so there are no surprises. If we know a bump in the road is coming, we can get involved and provide advice so that bump doesn’t become a roadblock.”
That a good banker understands his customers so he can provide counsel as well as credit remains a verity. And the successful banker appreciates he is part of a team of bankers who serve his customers, Schmidt emphasizes.
As president of the PNC region that serves Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana, Carroll, Jefferson and Belmont counties, Schmidt takes a collegial approach to administering the needs of the businesses and individuals in those seven counties.
“I have a team of 23 commercial bankers,” he says. “We meet as a team twice a month and help each other achieve our overall goals. When I say we sit as a team, we take our titles away. There are no titles. Everybody has an equal voice and we respect one another.”
At these semi-monthly sessions, Schmidt says, “There are no dumb questions.” This approach “puts people at ease,” he’s found, and “leads to better discussions, better solutions.”
Low turnover and the veterans on his staff, some working for PNC and its predecessors more than 30 years, prove the success of this approach, the regional president has found.
Much of Schmidt’s success can be credited to his willingness to work hard. “I have strong work ethic,” he says matter-of-factly. Someone who saw that early is Phil Dennison, a principal and former president of Packer Thomas, a public accounting firm based in Canfield.
A chairman of the Mahoning County Republican Party in the 1980s, Jim Drake, introduced Schmidt, then a student at YSU, to Dennison. Because both were from North Jackson, Dennison knew members of Schmidt’s family – Ted’s grandfather drove the bus that took Dennison to grade school.
“Tell him to call me,” Dennison advised Drake.
Schmidt remembers entering Dennison’s office at Ernst & Whinney in downtown Youngstown. “I was wearing a skinny yellow leather tie,” Schmidt recalls. “He told me very nicely to return wearing professional attire.”
Dennison’s recollection is that Schmidt arrived “nicely dressed but not in business attire.” He agrees that he directed the young man to return in “a blue suit, white shirt, red tie and black leather shoes.” But in their conversation he detected that Schmidt “had a lot of potential. He had good conversational skills.”
At YSU, Schmidt remembers the communications courses he took from professor Anne McMahon. He was uncomfortable at public speaking, but “She brought me out of my shell, pressed us to make presentations. …
“Communication skills are so important,” the PNC executive says, “the writing, the speaking, the ability to make your case before a loan committee.”
Schmidt would join Ernst & Whinney after he graduated in 1987 and work with Dennison on the firm’s account with Ohio Bancorp, parent of Dollar Savings & Trust Co., later acquired by National City Bank.
“He [on the auditing side] worked under my tutelage,” Dennison relates. “We worked on it year-round” until Ohio Bancorp, impressed by Schmidt’s work, lured him away.
While disappointed to see Schmidt leave, Dennison has maintained a professional and personal friendship with Schmidt. “I’ve liked watching him grow and mature,” the accountant says. “Ted and I get together frequently and chat. He helps me serve my clients.”
Bob Hannon, the chief professional officer at United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, can also vouch for Schmidt’s work ethic and business acumen. The Youngstown region of PNC has supported the United Way’s Success by Six initiative as its title sponsor. The program prepares preschoolers for kindergarten and first grade and encourages their parents to be involved in that preparation.
“Ted’s been generous to United Way with his money,” Hannon begins. “More than that, he’s been generous with his time.” Last year, Schmidt “chaired our annual campaign. He called on businesses [that hadn’t given], went out and met with donors, including clients of the bank,” Hannon says.
Schmidt either serves on United Way committees or meets with the members so he’s familiar with their work and can knowledgeably help allocate funds to agency recipients, Hannon says. The bank president visits agencies the United Way supports to satisfy himself the funds are spent wisely. “He writes reports,” Hannon says, “meets with [United Way committee members. Ted does due diligence.”
Services to the community and overseeing PNC Bank’s operations in seven counties leaves Schmidt little time for anything else, he allows. He watches very little television and has to carve out time to play golf. “My hobbies today are my kids,” he says, and attends as many of their school activities and athletic endeavors as he can.
“I turn off my Blackberry when I attend their games,” he adds.
Because of how high technology has changed banking, Schmidt wants his lending officers spending more time calling on potential customers and meeting current customers.
“It used to be that we sat in an office,” Schmidt says. “Today you meet a customer at Panera Bread if you don’t meet them [where they] work. With all our technology, your office is where you are, where you need to be.”
Also helping young lending officers learn how to structure loans are PNC’s online training programs,” Schmidt says. He himself just completed “a great three-part program on women-owned businesses.”
Over his career, Schmidt has learned that every customer is different and as the economy of the region diversifies, “Everyone’s needs are different. There’s no cookie-cutter approach to banking.”
He returns to three themes: staying close to customers, working closely with his colleagues as part of a team and the need for good communication skills. He does not engage in social media – no texting or tweeting or Facebook – which he suspects undermine traditional writing and speaking skills.
Texting has its place, he allows, but young bankers who want to get ahead would do well to get in the habit of writing full sentences and spelling correctly instead of using abbreviations.
“Traditional communication skills are different,” he says. “The loan committee doesn’t want a text message.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story appears in the December edition of The Business Journal.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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