Donovan takes over for retiring Dardis; local Falls operation to remain the same
Bremer Financial Services will get a new chief executive officer this month.
Stan Dardis, CEO, is stepping down after the company’s board meeting April 27; he will be replaced in that position by Patrick Donovan, chief operating officer and president.
The International Falls branch of Bremer should not see changes to its local operations. Dardis noted that the faces that people in International Falls have come to know will not change.
“Gary Bigler is still in the community. They’re the Bremer you know,” Dardis said of the Falls employees. Bigler is president of the local Bremer branch.
The transition has been smooth, Dardis explained. He and Donovan have known each other for years. Dardis even went as far as to say they have had fun in the transition.
Donovan joked that they have been called “Stat and Pan,” a merging of the two names, because they have a similar style of leadership and have been working together for so long.
Dardis was named chief executive officer of Bremer and elected to its board of directors in 1998. He has extensive financial services experience, including more than 30 years in the banking industry. Previously, he held the positions of chief operating officer and executive vice president and retail banking services director since joining Bremer in 1993.
Donovan joined the company in 2002 as a board member after spending more than 20 years at Wells Fargo. He was named president and chief operating officer of Bremer in 2006. He previously was executive vice president and chief operating officer for Bremer when joining the company in 2002.
Although Donovan has years of experience in the banking industry, he said he would continue the policy held by Dardis’ and the company of relying on the employees in local markets to make decisions that best fit their community. He called this a “decentralized model of leadership.”
“(It takes) collaboration and teamwork,” Donovan said. “This is absolutely a team sport ... We take great pride that not just one person provides leadership.”
That is a philosophy that Donovan will continue from the previous administration.
“One thing I’ve discovered at Bremer is the fewer decisions made by the boss ... the better the organization will be,” Dardis added, speaking of himself and upper management. Instead, he said he was content to let employees in the local marketplace do what is best for their customers, and look to corporate for support as needed.
And while many banks have struggled through a challenging year in 2009 with bank bailouts and an economic recession, Bremer has remained profitable. Through 2009, net income for the Minnesota-based financial company was $65.2 million.
“We wrapped up one of the toughest years with pay raises,” Dardis said.
Donovan said that he hopes to take their same brand of banking and go into other markets in the upper Midwest.
The Falls has one of Bremer’s more than 100 locations in the upper Midwest. The company is headquartered in St. Paul. It is jointly owned by the Otto Bremer Foundation and company employees.
Dardis explains that the company’s ability to succeed in trying times comes from three factors: they operate in the upper-Midwest where people do not live beyond their means and stand behind their obligations; the owner-operator structure of company control is conducive to success because the employees are interested in sustaining the company, not chasing high highs in the market; and finally they have exceptional people in place at the various locations that help them meet company goals.
Dardis noted that businesses such as Einarson’s Flying Service in International Falls are good examples of how to run a business well. Personalized attention and going the extra mile with customers are important parts of both Einarson’s and Bremer’s success, he noted.
“They make you feel like a VIP,” he said of the local airport management company, by asking what else they can do for you and ensuring that you have a pleasant experience.
Donovan said that for customers, it boils down to one question: Are you there when they need you? He hopes that for customers of Bremer, the answer is yes.
“We know that business pretty darn well and we’re going to stick to it,” Donovan said. “Our aim isn’t to be the biggest bank, but to be the best bank in the communities where we have a presence.”
