BANKING
ON SUCCESS
Women take the
finance
world by storm
Written by KRISTIN LYNCH
Photography by STEVE GROER
Female bankers. It’s not an oxymoron (we swear). In
fact, it’s an emerging national trend. Ambitious,
intelligent and savvy, these women began breaking
barriers in the finance world long before there were
18 million cracks in the glass ceiling. These ladies are leading
dozens of employees and managing millions of dollars —
in addition to being mothers, wives and board members. In
so doing, they are changing the landscape of our modern
financial institutions.
DENVER WOMAN caught up with a few of these overachievers
as they shared their secrets to success and their
expertise on coping in today’s struggling economy.
DEBBIE SILVERSMITH
Managing director
First Western Trust Bank
She might stand at only 5 feet and weigh less than 100
pounds, but Debbie Silversmith packs some serious punches
when it comes to the finance arena. Currently one of six managing
directors at First Western Trust Bank in Denver,
Silversmith is the portfolio manager for high-net-worth and
corporate clients. She also holds a coveted spot on First
Western's four-person investment policy committee.
Composed of the firm's most senior investment professionals,
the investment policy committee directs strategic decisions
on asset allocation and portfolio investments; these
committee members are essentially the decision makers for
the bank's $3 billion in advisory assets.
Silversmith has had a long and distinguished career in
finance, ever since her days as an undergraduate at the ivyladen
halls of Cornell University. Earning a degree in economics,
she went straight to the prestigious Wharton School
of Business at the University of Pennsylvania to obtain her
MBA, graduating in 1978. From there, this small-town-
Wisconsin native tackled the mean streets of Wall Street,
eventually working at the aggressive investment bank
Salomon Brothers.
In the ‘80s, a female on the trading floor of an investment
bank was practically unheard of,
but Silversmith successfully challenged
the status quo. “In those days
there wasn’t the sensitivity to political
correctness that there is today. To be a
woman there you had to be pretty
thick-skinned,” she recalls.
Despite the challenges, Silversmith
raves about her time on Wall Street: “I
had a great experience. I was working
with smart, aggressive people, and I got
a great education in how the markets
work. I really liked being there.”
After a blind date turned into marriage,
Silversmith left the Big Apple and
headed west to Denver, working for two
investment firms, Hanifen, Imhoff and
Boettcher & Co., before she and husband
Don launched Sterling Partners, a
wealth management firm. Sterling
Partners enjoyed more than a decade of
success before ultimately merging with
First Western in 2005.
As one of the managing directors at
First Western, Silversmith is very
much aware of the nation’s current
economic struggles. Despite the downturn
in the economy, though, she
emphasizes a long-term approach to
investing. Her advice is to be patient
because “getting caught up in the
short-term gyrations (of the market) …
can lead to emotional decisions that
end up hurting returns over the long
run.” She reassuringly adds that the
market has always fluctuated, but “the
average bull market is much longer
and at a much higher percentage gain
than the bear market years.”
There is hope, it seems, in the near
future. Silversmith points out that the
economy has been in a down cycle for
about nine months, ever since the stock
market peaked last October. In her opinion, “If the economy, and the housing market in particular,
can start to see some improvement, even if it’s pushed out
to later next year, there’s going to be a buying opportunity in
stocks.” This is mainly a result of the fact that the stock market
is a “leading indicator,” meaning it will bottom out
before the economy does, and it will start to turn up while
the economy is still on its way down. As she counsels, “If
you’re trying to position a portfolio to take advantage of the
move up, you have to be positioned before the news on the
economy turns rosy.”
Wherever the economy ends up going, you can be certain
that Silversmith will be in the thick of it. So far, it’s taken her
on a path from Wisconsin to Wall Street, from business
owner to managing director, and a great deal in between. The
sky is certainly the limit for this 5-foot financier.
AMY GRADEN
Market president
South Metro Region
Vectra Bank
Vectra Bank’s market president Amy Graden belies the
stereotypes — however misplaced they may be — that are
usually associated with banking executives. Where one pictures
strict suits and cold demeanors, Graden possesses a
warm, affable personality that is at once both magnetic and
disarming. It is a striking and memorable feature of her presence
and indeed may very well be the secret to her success.
But lest you assume this sunny disposition indicates a lack
of strength, think again. Not one to shy away from conflict,
Graden remarks, “My team would tell you I’m a firm, but fair,
manager. We’re in a day and age where people try to avoid
conflict, but sometimes that’s not healthy. You have to be
honest with your team; that’s the fair thing to do.”
By all measures, her leadership seems to be pretty effective.
She arrived at Vectra seven years ago as a commercial banker.
After two years she was tapped to build the firm’s executive
banking division — from scratch. A difficult assignment for
even the most seasoned of banking executives, the challenge
was met head-on by Graden, who grew the division to more
than $100 million in deposits within just five years.
Rather than bask in the sunlight of her accomplishment,
however, she is quick to praise her colleagues in this shared
success. “I’m blessed with a phenomenal team,” she says. “I’m very lucky. They make it easy; they’re just wonderful.”
(Of course, Graden would know – she hired them.)
From the helm of the executive banking division, Graden
ascended to her current position of market president for the
South Metro Region, where she has added the business banking
and retail banking divisions to her directorship. In this role,
she oversees dozens of employees, nine different branches,
$250 million in deposits and $100 million in loans. The phrase “high level of responsibility” immediately comes to mind.
As Graden describes it, she owes a large amount of her
success to good ol’ hard work and determination. Initially
starting out as a teller at Norwest, she literally worked her
way up through the ranks of the banking industry for nearly
15 years, dabbling in commercial banking and private banking
before joining Vectra. During these years she also somehow
found time to attend night school and obtain her master’s
degree in business management from CU Denver.
While acknowledging that the finance sector can still be a
male-dominated industry in many respects, she is quick to
point out that her experience with Vectra has been overwhelmingly
positive. “I’ve never felt gender was a particular issue for me. They [Vectra] have given me some phenomenal
opportunities, and I have never felt as if I was overlooked for
anything here on account of my gender,” she says.
While Graden may speak glowingly of her employer, her
view of today’s economy is a little less rosy, and understandably
so. In light of these challenging economic times, she
cautions against overspending. “My dad always said, ‘It’s not
what you make, it’s what you save,’” she remarks. To this
end, she promotes effective saving vehicles and encourages
readers to keep their money with quality, full-service bankers — just like the ones she works with at Vectra.
SANDRA SAGEHORN-ELLIOTT
Vice president
Customer relationship management
Bellco Credit Union
Sandra Sagehorn-Elliott grew up on a farm in the middle
of Nebraska. Polk, to be exact; population, 400. She graduated
from Nebraska Wesleyan University with degrees in political
science and Spanish. She wanted to be a diplomat.
Fortunately for Bellco Credit Union, her career aspirations
changed, and the State Department’s loss became Bellco’s
gain. Sagehorn-Elliott is currently the vice president for customer
relationship management for the credit union, which
holds $2 billion in assets and is the second largest of its kind
in the state. In her position, she leads the team responsible
for every point of contact between Bellco and each of its
175,000 clients, or members.
That’s how Bellco in particular, and credit unions in general,
differ from banks — instead of clients, each of the customers
the credit union serves is a member. Credit unions,
unlike banks, are not owned by shareholders; they are owned
by individual members. As Sagehorn-Elliott describes it, “The goal of banks is to satisfy stockholders. Bellco doesn’t
have that. Our main reason for existing is helping our members
build their financial well-being. We take our profits and plow them back into the credit union,
giving back to our members.”
This “higher cause” is part of what
attracted Sagehorn-Elliott to working at
Bellco: “I love the philosophy of a credit
union. Every time we sit down to
make strategic decisions, it’s all based
on what’s best for the members and
how we can help them build financial
stability. It’s so refreshing.”
She has been in the finance industry
for nearly 15 years, ever since she
moved to Colorado from Nebraska.
Working for a number of banks immediately
upon her arrival, she landed at
Bellco a little more than eight years ago
and has remained ever since. As the
vice president of customer relationship
management, her overarching goal is to
ensure that each of Bellco’s members
has a positive experience whenever
they interact with the institution. Part of
a larger, organizational effort known as
the “Wow Initiative,” practically speaking,
this philosophy means going above
and beyond the call of normal customer
service. As Sagehorn-Elliot puts it, “We
want to offer exemplary service at
every turn so that our members know
we care about them.”
She recognizes that during these
challenging economic times, this relationship
is even more important, as families
in Colorado need every little bit of
help they can get. She encourages
women in particular to take charge of
their finances. Too often she sees
women who are dangerously unfamiliar
with their financial situation. Although
money management may seem daunting,
Sagehorn-Elliott remarks, “Money is
the power to do all the amazing stuff in
life, and that’s what it can do for you if
you spend a little time making sure
you’re making the right choices.”
Her lasting words of wisdom are
reminiscent of Yogi Berra’s one-liner: “You should make your money work
as hard for you as you work to get it.”
And despite the uncertain economic
times, you can be sure Sagehorn-Elliott and her team at Bellco Credit
Union will be working just as hard on
their clients’ behalf.
AMY THEISEN, CFP, CPA
Wealth management director, Colorado
Wells Fargo Private Bank
Senior vice president
With 3-year-old twins at home, in addition to a 5-year-old (all
boys), it’s no stretch of the imagination to see that Amy Theisen
has her hands full. But somehow, in addition to these responsibilities,
she manages to direct the state’s entire wealth management
group for Wells Fargo – talk about a busy lady!
As senior vice president and wealth management director
for the Wells Fargo Private Bank of Colorado, Theisen leads
an entire team of fiduciary specialists,
financial planners and wealth management
specialists in delivering comprehensive
wealth management plans for
Private Bank clients.
Although this Kansas City native didn’t
start in the banking arena, Theisen has
always had an affinity for numbers, or, as
she puts it “something that was more
defined.” Graduating with an undergraduate
degree in accounting from
Marquette, she received her master’s in
accounting with a taxation focus from
Kansas University, ultimately moving to
Denver after landing a job with a Big Six
accounting firm. She naturally gravitated
toward individual client services and realized
she had found her passion. “I really
enjoy sitting down with clients and helping
them and knowing that at the end of
the day they’ll be able to sleep a little better
because they feel better about their
financial situation,” she says.
After several years in accounting,
Theisen made the jump to the banking
industry, joining Wells Fargo as a senior
financial advisor for the National Wealth
Planning Center, ultimately ascending to
her current position. Although the finance
sector in general, and banking in particular,
are traditionally perceived as maledominated,
Theisen waxes glowingly
about Wells Fargo’s inclusive and supportive
practices for women. More than
half (51 percent) of the bank’s officers and
managers are female, and the firm is
steadfast in its commitment to diversity.
These efforts consistently land the bank at
the top of the rankings of best companies
for executive women, and, in her opinion,
are what differentiates Wells Fargo from
its competitors. That, and its 155-year history
of a team-based approach to helping
clients build, manage, preserve and transfer their wealth.
But history and accolades aside, these days are tough for all
players in the financial services arena. Theisen remarks, “The
key right now is to be flexible and have a plan, because it is
going to be challenging.” She also encourages investors to
diversify, not just within asset classes, but across them. She recommends
a four-asset class portfolio of real assets (real estate,
REITs, etc.) and alternatives (hedge funds, commodities, private
equity, etc.), in addition to the more traditional stocks and
bonds. Monitoring your asset allocation is critical in weathering
the storm that is our current struggling economy.
