Next Month in US Banker: Life After Banking

US Banker  |  February, 2010

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert

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When County Bank in Merced, Calif., failed last year, the subsequent job cuts hit its former chief executive Thomas Hawker hard. He would log on to a Web site the former employees created to swap information on job openings, only to see posts about how they could not find work.

"I felt a real sense of frustration that I could do nothing to help them," says Hawker, 66. "And that led me to looking for other things that I might be able to do to feel more useful."

Hawker found a sense of purpose by traveling to China in September and mentoring missionaries who have started businesses there. He plans to go back again this fall.

Other CEOs of failed banks confront a similar challenge of figuring out how to reinvent themselves after their banking careers end. Some have dived into volunteer work closer to home or personal projects like writing a book. But generally they had to work through a lot of emotional turmoil first.

"It's a time of bewilderment and uncertainty, as they ask themselves, 'What am I going to do now?'" says Larry Martin, the president of the Denver consulting firm Bank Strategies LLC. "It is a soul-searching experience for many of them."

In Hawker's case, his trip overseas as a volunteer helped him mend. He taught the missionaries — mostly Christians from the U.S. who had never run a business before — about drafting a business plan, keeping financial records and marketing. Hawker even met with Chinese bankers during his two weeks there to learn how the missionaries could access credit.

"It gave me the feeling that my skill sets still have a value," Hawker says.

After a bank fails, those who've lost their jobs — and in some cases their careers — have to deal with a flood of emotions, observers say. Some liken it to the five stages of grief.

The full article will be available in the March issue of U.S. Banker