As people say, there’s no “I” in team.
But as far as CEO Russell Colombo is concerned, there’s a Tim in the No. 2 spot at Bank of Marin.
The board of directors of the parent company, Bank of Marin Bancorp, has selected Tim Myers, formerly chief operating officer and executive vice president, as the Novato-based institution’s new president, a title Colombo held since 2006.
Colombo will retain the CEO title. Myers, a 25-year banking veteran, will gain more responsibility as president and also retain his COO title.
The largest component to Myers’ job involves overseeing the major acquisition Bank of Marin made in mid April of American River Bank based in Rancho Cordova in the Sacramento area. The $134.5 million transaction expands the footprint of the San Francisco Bay Area banking network into the Central Valley, where the growth in Northern California is headed.
Myers plans to meet with the new team as the point person managing the acquisition, which the bank aims to complete in the third quarter.
Colombo has announced plans to retire as CEO when the bank outruns the pandemic. His retirement was delayed early last year when COVID-19 prompted shutdowns and a flurry of bank activity resulting from the economy experiencing havoc.
“This is a big step — a step in Tim’s progression in leadership at the bank,” Colombo told the Business Journal, calling the maneuver “an expansion of (Myers’) role.”
Colombo stopped short of declaring the promotion represents the grooming of Myers, 50, for the top job when the CEO leaves.
“We have nothing to announce yet,” Colombo said.
Still, Colombo — being well versed in Myers’ work for decades since 1998 — is placing a lot of faith and responsibility in his No. 2 man’s lap.
Colombo respects Myers competitive drive, while acknowledging the two men are cut of the same cloth.
“We have a lot of similarities, but it’s the competitive drive to always be better — that’s what I see in Tim,” Colombo said, listing their drive is “fueled” by athletic sports as one example. Colombo plays golf and is a cyclist.
Myers became a football coach coming out of college, graduating from Williamette University and Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. He drew a parallel between athletic pursuits and teaching the community financial principles.
“What I learned from coaching is you have to understand the fundamentals. I like to teach financial literacy and what happens if you don’t follow those fundamentals. With the initiatives we have now, I think the bank has done a great job with that,” he said.
Myers started his banking career as an assistant loan officer at Imperial Bank, now Comerica Bank, and worked his way up the ranks of commercial banking. He joined Bank of Marin in 2007 as senior vice president and manager of its San Francisco commercial banking office. He was promoted to executive vice president and operations chief titles for the Novato-based bank last year.
As a critical member of the Bank of Marin team, Myers will continue to manage the commercial and retail banking outlets as well as operations, technology, wealth and trust management and marketing.
To Colombo, Myers’ strong suit in relationship banking serves Bank of Marin’s philosophy and will help lead a new team from another financial institution into a culture that places customers’ dreams first.
“In a competitive world, we manage relationships. What we do is not all about the numbers. It’s about the people,” Colombo said.
As it moves ahead with its plans, Bank of Marin also announced the hiring of Nikki Sloan as executive vice president and head of commercial banking to slip into Myers former role. Sloan will report to Myers.
Before joining Bank of Marin, Sloan logged a decade with Wells Fargo Bank, most recently with the title of senior vice president and commercial banking leader in the bank’s San Francisco home base. Sloan managed a slew of credit and treasury products there. She launched an interest in finances at the Pacific Coast Banking School.
“We are very fortunate to have Nikki join us in this strategic leadership role at such a pivotal time of expansion and growth for the bank,” Myers said.