Redwood Credit Union branch manager in Napa County wins North Bay Forty Under 40 award

Like many who lead in the business world, Mario Gutierrez says the pandemic experience has been fraught with challenges.

“I had to learn that to be a good leader. I had to show a vulnerable side and express empathy. It was important for my team to know that I saw and felt what they were feeling, all while assuring them that we would work and get through it together. I learned to focus on what was in our control.”

Beginning work as a teller in 2006, he held a number of industry positions, from teller, personal banker, private banker then started work at Redwood Credit Union in April of 2015 as a senior membership representative.

“It has become a personal passion to break down any language barriers that could stand between a person reaching their financial goals through financial education workshops and presentations in Spanish.”

And he’s taken that work outside of work, as the Community Outreach director on the Napa County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Puertas Abiertas, The Napa Valley Grape Growers Association, and other local Latino leaders to provide financial education

In a business sense, what is the greatest thing about being under 40; and then what is the worst?

“Being under 40 has made me a more relatable leader for emerging generations resulting in their trust. The worst thing would be that as a young professional there tends to be a misconception that being young equates to being inexperienced.”