Florida Banking October 2022

“Our goal is to take care of our colleagues, our clients, and our shareholders. In our third or fourth year, we’d like to have a second location in Collier County, and eventually a third location in Cape Coral. There’s plenty of growth in Southwest Florida,” Blevins said. “We have a great team, and our goal is to build succession management, so that folks like Tom and Stacy have an opportunity to take on leadership roles in the bank going forward.” With its focus on holistic improvement, both for clients and its internal team, Gulf Coast Business Bank plans to be around for the long haul. “If you take care of your customers, you don’t really need to worry about the competition,” Robinson said.

and raise the organizing expenses. The board raised $23.6 million in capital to start the bank. “We have a great board. They really helped us get out there and raise the capital,” Blevins said. His team, too, are shareholders. “I wanted everybody here to feel like they have skin in the game.” SVP and Senior Credit Officer Stacy Suddeth added: “This makes us more relatable to our clients, as well; a lot of the folks we deal with are entrepreneurs. They own their own businesses, and we’re business owners, too. We can apply that commonality to our clients.” Where does the team see Gulf Coast Business Bank in the next five years? Gulf Coast Business Bank, Continued from page 9

The Gulf Coast Business Bank leadership (l to r): Senior Vice President & Senior Credit Officer Stacy Suddeth, Branch Manager Rosie Ruano, Senior Vice President, Commercial Lending Tom Robinson, President and CEO Bill Blevins, Vice President, Deposit Ops/BSA AML Compliance Opal McIntosh, and CFO Guy Harris.

WILLIAM M. BLEVINS A 35-year banking veteran, William M. Blevins joined Bank of America (formerly C&S National Bank) in 1987 after obtaining commercial banking experience at BancTexas in Dallas. He graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Economics and received his MBA in Finance and Accounting from Louisiana State University. He holds a Certified Cash Management (CCM) designation from the Association for Financial Professionals and has earned his series 7 and 63 licenses. Blevins has a passion for helping others reach their dreams and goals, and he carries this through his community involvement in March of Dimes, United Way, American Red Cross, Salvation Army and more.

10 — FLORIDA BANKING THE VOICE OF FLORIDA BANKING