Photo © Nathan Mandell

More than money in the bank

Relationships count too, says LaSalle EVP

By Rebecca Lindell

Mary Jo Herseth '90 has some advice for students in The Managers' Program: Seize the unexpected opportunity.

Herseth has done just that during a 25-year career at LaSalle Bank in Chicago, where her willingness to explore the uncharted path has helped propel her to the top of the bank's leadership. Now an executive vice president and head of LaSalle's Wealth Management Group, Herseth oversees the bank's financial services to high-net-worth clients.  

It's an area she had not considered when she joined the bank fresh out of college as a 22-year-old credit analyst. But when her supervisors asked her in 1993 to move from one of LaSalle's well-established commercial banking divisions to lead the nascent private banking area, Herseth took a deep breath and said yes.

"It was a difficult decision for me, particularly since commercial banking at LaSalle was so dominant," she says. "I had some trepidation about moving from a proven, successful business into a relatively undeveloped area. Even though the bank said that private banking was an important part of LaSalle, I wondered if management would truly support it. I also wondered if I could make a difference."

Clearly, Herseth has had an impact. She has overseen the consolidation of LaSalle's private banking business with other services, including investment, trust and brokerage, to create the Wealth Management Group. Named head of that group in June 2005, Herseth expects to see profits increase 25 percent in 2006.

"It didn't happen overnight," she says. "My first year in private banking, I thought, 'We'll meet our targets by March.' That was naïve. I've since realized that it's a much longer-term endeavor." 

Despite her initial reservations, the Kellogg School alum now says her opportunities for advancement were far greater on LaSalle's private banking side. That's due, no doubt, to Herseth's talent for building relationships — a skill that comes into play constantly as she nurtures her connections with clients and her 300-person staff.

It is a more people-focused role than the one Herseth filled on the commercial banking side, where she was responsible for the banking and lending needs of middle- and upper-middle-market companies. Now, as head of Wealth Management, she oversees the bank's services to wealthy families and individuals, from bank accounts and lending to investments for their businesses.

"It's very much about relationships," Herseth says. "We work with our clients so that we really get to know them and their families. We help them build wealth in one generation, and we help them transfer it successfully to the next generation."         

The Managers' Program, Herseth says, greatly helped to refine those relationship-building skills. One of her fondest Kellogg memories is of a particularly diverse team of classmates, all from different businesses and backgrounds.

"There was something about seeing that group come together that was very powerful," she says. "I learned so much about how to put big, disparate groups together to collaborate, create and think about business in a totally new way."

That includes being open to new challenges. Graduates of The Managers' Program are poised to make the most of all the opportunities that will come their way, says Herseth. 

"If you're given opportunities, take a hard look at them," she concludes. "If your employer is offering you a chance to try something new, it's because they see untapped potential in you."

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