2012 Rising Stars in Banking: Greg Turner

After a merger, Iowa's MidWestOne Bank had a new name and needed a new wealth management team. Greg Turner rebuilt that team and showed MidWestOne customers that the new bank retained everything they valued in the old bank. "He's not afraid to confront difficult situations in a 'head-on' manner," said Charlie Funk, president of the Iowa City-based bank. "He has great passion and leadership skill.".NorthWestern Financial Review magazine is recognizing Turner as a 2012 Rising Star in Banking..But Turner's career in banking might never have been. When he started college at Quincy University in Quincy, Ill., he wanted to major in biology. As a person who had always enjoyed science, he would likely have continued on a technical path if it weren't for his college advisor. After recognizing Turner's exceptional people skills, the advisor encouraged him to consider a field that would involve a lot of face-to-face interaction. "Thank goodness he called me on it because he was right," said Turner, who changed his degree to marketing and graduated in 1994..The day he got out of college was his first day at WGEM-TV, an NBC affiliate in Quincy. He did on-air broadcasting but he also handled the marketing account for Citizens Bank in Macomb, Ill. "That was how I got into banking," Turner said..In 1997, the bank had started an investment services group and was looking for someone to lead it. "They thought I did a great job for them as a client and asked me to lead the group," he said. "I told them no twice.".Turner eventually took the position and excelled at it. By 2009, he was a board member, a member of the executive group and was helping the bank start an insurance company. "The one big thing they taught me was that it's not really the skill that matters in a job, it's the passion that matters," he said. "If people are passionate about what they do, they can be trained on products and services.".Then MidWestOne Bank caught Turner's eye. It had just undergone a merger of equals. Iowa State Bank & Trust Company, an Iowa City-based bank, had merged with MidWestOne and taken on the MidWestOne name. "They had to be strong banking companies to do that in a difficult economy," Turner said..The bank needed someone to lead its wealth management services. Turner applied for the position and was the clear choice. But Turner had a big task in front of him. The bank was starting with a new name in Iowa City, a market that made up 40 percent of its net income. "The biggest challenge was to convince people that we were the same bank," Funk said. A year before Turner's arrival, the bank's investment services department had lost much of its staff. "The unit was devastated with a massive departure," Funk said..Turner also was charged with developing relationships with law and accounting firms. "It was an interesting time when I got here. We lost all of our advisors in the Iowa City market with the bank's merger and the difficult economy," Turner said..Turner focused on customer-centric sales. "Part of why I gravitate to community banking is that I want to take care of people," he said. He believes that his departments' success depends not on transactions but on taking care of its customers, especially through difficult times..But he didn't stop with his departments. His bank needed to overcome the cultural obstacles of the merger. "Change is difficult for an organization and I have helped develop one culture," Turner said. He helped develop a leadership institute for the whole bank through which management can invest in the bank's future leaders. The institute has trained four classes of new leaders within the current bank culture and the young people in the program have developed those internal relationships that bolster future collaboration. "If we are going to compete in price and product then we probably can't compete," Turner said. He sees an opportunity in creating a staff that focuses on the customer. "If we can manage that relationship well, we can have that long-term approach. That is how you differentiate yourself.".Turner's hard work has paid off; the MidWestOne name has begun to gain recognition. "Our customers have really started to refer us to their peers," Turner said.."We had to refocus and re-energize our sales force in our key markets," Funk said. "Greg was the key person we tapped to do that. He has been the leader we needed."Other 2012 Rising Stars in Banking honorees include:Sherri Van Beek, CorTrust Bank, Sioux Falls, S.D.Henry Schutz, Lake Country Community Bank, Morristown, Minn.Todd Heilman, Western State Bank, Devils Lake, N.D.Tod Eastman, HomeStar Bank and Financial Services, Manteno, Ill.Adam Dittrich, Americanna Community Bank, Sleepy Eye, Minn.Blair Folkens, L.A. Amundson Investments, Sioux Falls, S.D.Eric Kjos, Regional Missouri Bank, Marceline, Mo