Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Tell us about the bank.
Jim DeVolld: First Independent Bank was started in 1999 and headquartered in Reno. We have grown to more than $550 million in assets since then, with seven branch locations in Reno, Sparks, Fallon and Carson City. We have 92 fantastic employees along with a wonderful and supportive customer base. We truly support the communities we operate in and value those relationships. Our entire staff works to develop strong relationships with our customers. We try very hard to refer business to those clients that do business with us. It feels good to help them growth their business too.
NNBW: What role do you play in the company?
DeVolld: President and CEO of the bank. Half of my job is keeping the people in the right frame of mind. We have terrific people with terrific attitudes. That's the easy part of the job. Next is growing the business and making sure our customers have a great interaction with us every single time.
NNBW: How did you get into this profession?
DeVolld: I was lucky enough to be hired by Tom Grady (former banker and current Assemblyman from Yerington) straight out of high school and just never left the banking business. Tom is a great role model for me and I still consider him a very close friend.
NNBW: What are some of the skills and abilities necessary for someone to succeed in this job?
DeVolld: Great people skills and the ability to be empathic with our customer's individual circumstances. In these very difficult economic times, business owners need our help and support now more than ever. It is really important to work through issues quickly and decisively. It's important to be a cheerleader for the local community and companies that do business here. Working together to buy from each other really improves our chances of surviving the downturn. Don't buy from out-of-the-area vendors ... Buy local! Even if it is from large local chains. They employ our local families, too.
NNBW: If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
DeVolld: I love scuba diving so a diving instructor on a tropical island would have been great. I love the water, but not that much opportunity to be a dive instructor growing up in Yerington. Being a golf pro would come in a very close second.
NNBW: What do you like to do when you're not working?
DeVolld: Anything related to the University of Nevada is fun for me. Being involved on the Athletics Association Board and supporting the student athletes is so much fun. My wife and I enjoy traveling to out-of-town football and basketball games. I also spend quite a bit of time with the Boys & Girls Club Board. They do great things at the club and the kids are always so awesome! I also enjoy working in the yard at home. I think I'm a frustrated farmer at heart.
NNBW: Have any advice for someone who wants to enter your profession?
DeVolld: First, get a great education of the University of Nevada in finance. Then work your way up from entry level positions in the banking business. It helps you truly understand the importance of every position.
NNBW: What person, living or dead, would you most like to have dinner with, and why?
DeVolld: Thomas Jefferson would be great just to learn about the birth of our country. While visiting Washington D.C. years ago, I really felt patriotic. Jefferson had such a major role in the birth of our country and what still works well today. On the fun side, dinner with Lee Trevino (professional golfer) would be a night to really remember.
NNBW: Would you rather be younger, thinner, richer or smarter? Why?
DeVolld: Easy. Smarter. The other things can and do go away. It never hurts to be smarter.
NNBW: What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
DeVolld: Leo Seevers once told me that if you are important to your community ... you will be important to your employer. I have tried very hard to be someone that helps worthy causes in the northern Nevada area. I have never forgotten that advice.
NNBW: What do you like most about your job? What do you like least?
DeVolld: I really like working with all of the terrific customers and staff at First Independent Bank. Just seeing what they are up to every day is energizing. There is something new every day and that makes it fun. The heavy regulatory environment right now is tough to navigate. Community banks should be helping long-standing customers with issues but the regulatory burden is often at odds with that paradigm.
NNBW: What are five things you can't live without?
DeVolld: My wife, my daughter, my executive assistant, laughter and a really nice glass of cabernet.
NNBW: If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why would you want it?
DeVolld: The power to see into the future. I want to know when the 49ers are going to get better!
NNBW: What does the content of your refrigerator say about you?
DeVolld: That I am making a serious effort to be healthy. Lots of fruits and vegetables but please ignore that carton of ice cream in the freezer.
The basics:
Name: Jim DeVolld. President and CEO First Independent Bank
How long have you been in this job? 11 years
How long in the profession? 34 years
Education: Pacific Coast Banking School & National School of Real Estate Finance
Best book you've read? "Now, Discover your Strengths" by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton.
What's on your iPod? Almost every kind of music you can imagine. I like it all!
The best movie ever? "Shawshank Redemption" watch it every time it comes on.
Spouse, kids or pets? Zoe (married for 29 years!), Ashley, my daughter, is attending graduate school after completing her degree at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is working on a doctorate in physical therapy. Pet, Nya, a pure white American Eskimo dog with a great personality!
