7 minute read
Banking on Relationships
By Kathy Kenne
Photo by Beth Wynn
Frank Appleby is a self-described “relationship guy.” It’s what has steered his entire career and ultimately led him to Mississippi State.
Being the son of a Methodist minister meant he spent his childhood growing up all around Mississippi as his father moved from pastorate to pastorate. An undergraduate degree in business administration from Millsaps College provided him the background to launch his banking career with an entry-level training position at First Federal Savings & Loan in Canton. Soon after, he married, and his wife was accepted into the MBA program at the University of Chicago.
“We moved to Chicago with $400 in my pocket,” Appleby relates. “But we had an apartment in student housing, so that part was taken care of. It was September of 1980, and there was a recession going on, but I was too naïve to know. It took me three months to find a job.
“I became the Assistant to an Assistant to the Assistant Personal Banker at First National Bank and Trust Company of Evanston, Illinois,” he says with a smile. “It was an hour and 40-minute commute from the university!”
It was there that he developed his strengths in customer service and personal relationships and gained the bank management’s support to pursue his MBA from Northwestern University. He “cut his teeth” in banking there and remained at that bank for upwards of 13 years until it was acquired by Bank One, one of the country’s top 10 banks at that time.
“I was more entrepreneurial than large banks prefer,” he shares, recalling his desire to make an employment move. “I was recruited at that time by a mid-sized bank to develop and lead their lending department.”
From the early stages of Appleby’s Chicago area career, he began making loans to thoroughbred horse owners and trainers who were among the best in the business, such as members of the syndicates who owned Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Northern Dancer. The renowned Arlington Park racecourse was nearby.
“I began reading the trade journals to stay on top of the business,” he shares. “And I became fascinated. But I didn’t have the resources to become a real participant in the ‘sport of kings’ at the time.”
As his career moved forward, larger banks were continually buying smaller and mid-sized ones. His employer was bought yet again, and Appleby was tiring of having to adapt to new cultures each time. He decided he should try to create his own bank with his own culture, with the goal of its being acquired in the future by a larger institution.
In 1999, with that in mind, he organized The Peoples’ Bank of Arlington Heights, recalling it as “one of the best and most enjoyable experiences of my career.” The endeavor paid off. In a little more than 16 years, he had built such a successful business that he received a very nice offer to acquire Peoples’. He and his board agreed to it, making sure his employees’ jobs would be secure. Appleby continued to work for the acquirer, as well, until he fulfilled his obligations there.
Upon the sale of Peoples’, he also rekindled his interest in thoroughbred racing, which soon led to personal investment in several racehorse clubs and syndicates. The first horse in which he had ownership interest was Forever Royal, a beautiful gray mare who won his heart by always stalking and coming from behind to finish well. He enjoyed two or three days each week of the racing season in his box at Arlington Park. It was at that point that he felt a real longing to return home to Mississippi. He still had his racing interests in Chicago but decided a time of reflection on his Choctaw County farm was just what he needed. So, he made the move.
Forever Royall, the first gorse in which Appleby had ownership
Photo courtesy of Frank Appleby
Appleby enjoys life at his Choctaw County cabin.
Photo courtesy of Frank Appleby
He is now enjoying his timberland and the garden close to his cabin. The man who once had premium seats for each professional sporting venue in Chicago, and who saw every home playoff and championship game Michael Jordan ever played, is now content on his 63 acres in rural Mississippi.
Shortly after making the transition, he realized something was missing. He felt the need to share all he had learned in his banking career to help others. A longtime friend suggested that he consider teaching at the university level, given his love of mentoring. So, Appleby sat down and wrote a letter to Dean Sharon Oswald, a woman whom he had never met.
“Frank reached out to me about possibly teaching for MSU,” shares Oswald. “This was at a time when Lewis Mallory had just told us he would be retiring at the end of the year from teaching his banking class. Lewis [the former Chairman of Cadence Bank] had also served as our Executive in Residence. It only took one look at Frank’s resume to realize that he would be a perfect successor for Lewis. Kathleen Thomas, department head in Finance and Economics, reached out to Frank and asked him to join us, including Lewis, for lunch. That was all it took. Frank had a wealth of experience from his career in the Chicago area, and he was perfect for the role.”
Appleby now teaches the Bank Management course. His objective is for students to understand what is important in banking, how banks work and the risks banks seek to identify, mitigate and control. Even if students choose a different career path, he feels it is important for them to understand what banks are seeking from them and what they should seek from a bank.
He finds that his students thrive on real-world examples, so he has pulled out his old, redacted files. They particularly enjoy the study of “Lending to Crazy George.”
Word about Appleby’s interactive and energetic teaching style has gotten around. The first semester he taught a class of 18. Four semesters later, he has upwards of 40 in his class.
“Frank brings a wealth of real-world experience to the classroom, helping our students understand more deeply the links between theory and practice in the banking industry,” says Kathleen Thomas.
In addition to sharing his experience-based knowledge, Appleby thrives on assisting students who are launching into the workplace.
“I enjoy helping them find their career paths,” he says. “We’ve been very successful placing students in the top regional and super regional banks in the South. The FDIC is recruiting from my class. I had good relationships with the regulatory community in Chicago. I’m developing those same types of relationships in the South now.”
“After more than 35 years in business, Frank has built up numerous contacts both in the banking community and on the regulatory side,” states Thomas. “He has been willing to share those contacts with students, which has certainly helped with their job placement. Not everyone is willing to share their social capital so freely, but Frank is happy to do what he can to help these students succeed.”
Appleby splits his time between Mississippi and Chicago these days. He is the Executive Director and Treasurer of the Pepper Family Foundation in Chicago where he enjoys administering its grants and overseeing its resources. He feels blessed to be able to spend time with his adult daughter in Chicago and with his son, who is a helicopter paramedic in Jackson. He is a man in a good place in life.
“If the students get the jobs they want, that makes me happy,” he shares. “If the foundation grants do good for people, that makes me happy. I feel blessed. I’m a happy guy.”
“Frank is quite enthusiastic about this chapter in his life and career, and I’m so happy we can be a part of his journey,” says Thomas. “I hope we get the opportunity to work with him for a long time.”
Thomas need not worry. Appleby says, “I’ll continue to do this as long as they’ll have me!”
