2016 Rising Stars in Banking: Dave Mason

Leaders at the $2.1 billion First International Bank & Trust, Watford City, N.D., were attracted to Dave Mason's background in Alaska when they hired him to help lead FIB&T's entrance into Bismarck, one of the largest banking markets in the state..To questions like: Have you ever fallen into a hole in the side of a mountain in Alaska? Have you looked a grizzly bear in the face? Or, have you ever been lowered in a basket from a helicopter? Mason could answer yes to each..FIB&T leaders thought Mason had the grit to grow Bismarck loans and deposits while also working closely with Peter Stenehjem, a member of the bank's ownership and chief retail banking officer, to build a new flagship location near the state capitol..NorthWestern Financial Review is honoring Mason as a Rising Star in Banking for 2016, along with seven other bankers..Having grown up in Bismarck, it only took one trip to Alaska to get Mason hooked. After he graduated, he packed his bags and moved to Juneau to attend the University of Alaska Southeast. He graduated in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in business administration..During college, he met his future wife. "I needed a real job to get through my father-in-law's front door so I walked into the community bank – Alaska Pacific Bank – next to my climbing gym and got a job as a teller," Mason said. "That is how I got into banking.".Since Mason was pursuing a business degree he asked if the bank was willing to call his employment an internship. "They were nice enough to help me out," he said. "I got a flavor for banking that was above and beyond what I could have otherwise seen; I really liked it.".Talk to Mason for five minutes and you'll hear his experiences as an Alaskan adventurer coming through. On a rock climbing excursion in 2003, Mason lost control. At first he was in free fall; when he reached the slope he slid down the mountainside and into a hole in the hill. After another long free fall, Mason fortunately landed in a stream. The current carried him away until he got stuck in the underground passageways. Again fortune favored him and volunteers from the Juneau Mountain Rescue found and saved him. "After that I decided to join the mountain rescue. I felt I owed," he said..Mason volunteered for mountain rescue while he worked at Alaska Pacific Bank. He continued when he moved to Sitka, Alaska, which is where he found himself dangling from a rope in the vicinity of a protective grizzly bear mother and her cubs..In Sitka, he worked as a branch manager for First National Bank Alaska. "It was a multibillion dollar bank owned then by Dan Kuddy, who I met when he was 80 years old; he had been the bank's president since he was 30," Mason said. "I learned to be a banker there.".Mason returned to North Dakota in 2008 and worked for American Bank Center, Dickinson, N.D., until he joined FNB&T in June 2015 to start work on the Bismarck expansion. For Mason, working for FNB&T was like a homecoming. "American Bank Center was a great bank," he said. "FNB&T is very similar, though, to First National Bank Alaska. They are a family player with a big impact in the state of North Dakota. They also have the horsepower to get things done.".In May, Mason led the groundbreaking ceremony for FNB&T's $40 million, six story location in Bismarck, which is set to open in the fall of 2017. Mason also has grown the Bismarck staff to 29 employees. "We knew we could only make one first impression in Bismarck," Stenehjem said. "Dave is well-spoken and he has a dynamic personality that will serve him well as a long term leader. He has assembled a winning team around him. We have already been named a young professionals best place to work in Bismarck, even though the building is not up yet.".Mason's manager, John Drady, FNB&T's market president-central North Dakota, said FNB&T leaders appreciate Mason's progress in Bismarck. "We had customers that banked with us at a distance before we came into town but we don't take those deposits and loans and just give them to the new branch, in terms of our internal reporting," he said. "We want to see how the branch does on its own.."Dave has done an excellent job growing deposits and loan," Drady said. "Historically it is tough for bankers to be good at both bringing in loans and deposits. He has been very successful at bringing in both types of growth. And, he has done it while growing and managing his team, and working on the new facility.".Mason's style – a mix of Alaskan adventurer, banker and wilderness rescuer – resonates well with commercial customers and complements his entrepreneurial spirit. "There are 22 banks already in Bismarck; impression really matters," Stenehjem said. "We love Dave's background from Alaska. If you can handle that, you can represent our culture to Bismarck just fine.".Other 2016 Rising Stars in Banking honorees:Andy Schornack, Flagship Bank, Eden Prairie, Minn.Steven Erickson, Oregon Community Bank, Oregon, Wis.Krista Heiss, NebraskaLand National Bank, North Platte, Neb.Darla Kauffman, First State Bank of Middlebury, Ind.Darin Johnson, Security State Bank Sutherland, IowaBryan Toft, Community Bank Owatonna, Minn.Joel Rochleau, Security State Bank, Springville, Iowa