NOVATO -- One key measure of company leadership is ownership stake. Do top executives put their own money at risk in the companies they run?
“That’s actually the first time anybody has asked me that question,” said Russell Colombo, president and CEO of Bank of Marin, headquartered in Novato. He owns about 1.24 percent of the bank, including stock shares and options. The bank had recent market capitalization (total value) of $280 million, giving him a stake worth almost $3.5 million. Mr. Colombo has been at Bank of Marin for a decade.
The company has an employee stock ownership plan, rewarding people with up to 8 percent of their salaries. Employees now own about 6 percent of the company.
Many leaders surround themselves with sycophants, Mr. Colombo said, “yes men.”
“If I just keep hiring people who are a lot smarter than me,” he said, “things will be great.” That way he can eventually relax, trusting his staff of about 250 employees.
“I trust the people who work for me, give them credit for what they know and let them do their jobs,” Mr. Colombo said. “That allows people to show the skills they have. I don’t try to insert myself into their jobs.” He looks for the best people in their field for every job.
“We have made two acquisitions,” Mr. Colombo said, including the NorCal Community Bancorp, holding company for Bank of Alamada, which has four East Bay branches. Bank of Alameda accounts were transferred to Bank of Marin on March 10. In 2011, Bank of Marin acquired Charter Oak Bank, based in Napa.
Acquisition appetite is “not what drives us every day,” Mr. Colombo said. Yet the bank has a ways to go to reach the sweet spot where a bank can handle the cost of complying with federal regulations. Bank of Marin has assets of $1.8 billion. Mr. Colombo said that the best range of profitability is between $3 billion and $10 billion. “That gives you enough mass that you can cover the costs,” he said. “Over the next four or five years, we are going to continue to grow. We want to be between three and ten. It could be three. It could be seven.”
Mr. Colombo describes three pillars of Bank of Marin culture: relationship banking, commitment to the community and discipline. He tries to make sure his staff applies discipline to what they do every day.
“We stay true to what we know,” he said, “not get far afield.” Bank of Marin was founded in 1990 in San Rafael and Corte Madera.
“We are focused pretty exclusively in the north part of the Bay Area. We have not ventured south to the peninsula or San Jose. It’s highly unlikely we will go to Las Vegas to buy a bank,” Mr. Colombo said.
