2010 Rising Stars in Banking: Bryan Bruns

Bryan Bruns formed some of his strongest ideals while away from his Annandale, Minn., home, but the ideals tended to have a hometown connection just the same..His best career advice came while he was working at a summer camp. Bruns didn't get along well with his boss at first, and he mentioned that fact in phone calls home.."One day my dad said, 'quit complaining about it, figure out a way to make him look good or give your notice and move on,'" Bruns said. The advice stuck with him..After high school, Bruns was "bound and determined that I needed to go out and see the world." So he left Annandale and moved east to Minneapolis where he attended the University of Minnesota and graduated from the Carlson School of Management, an inaugural alumnus of the Carlson School's new banking and finance program..With youthful self-certainty, Bruns resolved to stay in the Twin Cities and pursue bigger things than he had seen on offer in his hometown of 3,000 people. But during his time away from Annandale he started to form certain ideals about community banks and an individual's responsibility in small communities..His first job out of college was with Norwest, where he worked as a credit analyst. But soon he moved to Marquette Bank. It was an exciting time in his career and in Marquette's history. Bruns helped put together the bank's portion of the bid to buy Midwest Federal, then completed due diligence for (and worked on the conversions of) other Marquette acquisitions. He even flew on the company jet as part of an acquisition team.."I was just a cog in the wheel, and not an important one, but I thought: Hey, this is pretty cool," he said..But during that period he and his wife started a family and relocated back to Annandale. Bruns commuted to Minneapolis for three years, but when his children began school the commute became more of a challenge.."I started to realize that it would be pretty nice to jump down to see my kids on keep-in-touch-day at school without having to worry about trying to get back from the Twin Cities," he said..About this time, the chairman of Annandale State Bank called Bruns and asked whether he was interested in joining the bank. Bruns had worked there as a teller while in high school. His family is a minority shareholder, and his father Dwayne was the president and CEO at the time..By then, Bruns was eager not only to be more engaged in his children's education but also to get "involved in a small town and the community bank part of it.".He went back to the hometown bank in October of 1994 and was named vice president and cashier in January of 1995. In 1999, he became an executive vice president. Then in 2005, he took over as president and continued as cashier; his father remains the CEO and is currently serving as chairman of the board..As Bruns returned to the bank he simultaneously dived into community involvement, working with the Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club. He was elected to Annandale's school board nine years ago and has since been re-elected twice. He also chaired the town's Fourth of July celebration for a dozen years.."I really tried to show everybody that I was back and ingrained in the community again," Bruns said. "Part of that is volunteering and serving your time in the community itself.".Bruns also got involved with the Minnesota Bankers Association, first on the planning committee for the Bank Leaders of Tomorrow conference, then on the education committee. He has chaired the government relations committee, served as the District 6 rep and been on the BankPAC board. On June 14 he became the MBA vice chair/treasurer..But mostly, Bruns said, he is still trying to follow the advice he got during that stay at summer camp.."Today my boss is pretty much my board," and Bruns sees it as his responsibility to make the board and shareholders look good.."As long as I can keep that goal in mind it works pretty well," he said.Other 2010 Rising Stars in Banking include:Todd Means, MidWestOne Bank, Iowa City, IowaAndrew Sexton, Readlyn Savings Bank, Readlyn, IowaPatrick Artz, State Bank of Bottineau, N.D.Lesly Couper, Alpine Bank, Rockford, Ill.Daniel Padilla, First National Bank of Omaha, Neb.Annette Russell, Security Federal Savings Bank, Logansport, Ind.