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Category:
Published: March 2007
Read about how Karen Zalweski worked her way up the corporate ladder and started a program devoted to women's issues in banking.
Success Magazine: Karen, share with us your bank experience at KeyBank and what your current position is?
Karen Zalewski-Wildzunas: My current position is senior vice president and Business Banking team leader. I lead a team of commercial lenders and the Key4Women team in the Capital Region. Before that I held numerous positions from branch manager to my current position. I began my career in banking in Washington, D.C., in 1980. I moved back to New York to work for First American Bank which was eventually taken over by KeyBank, and I have been at Key ever since.
SM: What is Key4Women?
KZW: Key4Women is a program that we started in 2005 to serve women in business. Key4Women provides networking opportunities, educational programs and access to capital to women. Our signature event is the Key4Women Forum, which brings in national speakers like Jane Bryant Quinn, Jean Chatzky and Barbara Corcoran who speak about a timely subject or book they have written. We also include a panel discussion featuring local women. Our turnout has grown over the years from 200 to 350. This past June, we brought in Lynn Donahue, author of the award-winning book, Brick by Brick, and the first woman to win the Massachusetts state masonry competition. She received a standing ovation. We have scheduled this year's event for June 15.
SM: Is the access to capital in the form of SBA loans?
KZW: We have been successful in providing women with a range of credit solutions, from lines of credit to term loans, mortgages, SBA loans and assistance with economic development loans. We held a program about 12 months ago to educate women business owners on how to become certified woman owned businesses and how to obtain government contracts. We held a program to educate women on how to develop a plan to obtain SBA loans. Key wants to be trusted advisors for women and help them become more successful.
SM: As the trusted advisor what exactly does the bank do for its clients?
KZW: Every business owner needs a team of advisors: accountant, lawyer and banker. This team advises the business owner on all aspects of their business and serves as a resource for guidance. KeyBank prides itself on assisting our clients with introductions, referrals, ideas and solutions.
SM: What other topics are covered by your Key4Women programs?
KZW: We held a roundtable discussion. Dr. Sharon Hadary came from the Women's Business Resource Center to discuss the results of the survey that was sent to women-owned businesses about their businesses. Eighteen local women business owners attended and discussed the results of the survey as well as their personal experiences, challenges and successes. This was a great success, and there were valuable networking connections made that have turned into long-term friendships.
SM: Succession planning is not addressed often at these meetings. What does Key4Women provide for that topic?
KZW: We are in the planning stages of our next seminar on succession planning. It will deal with surviving the death or disability of a business partner, particularly when that death or disability may bring in a new business partner. We advise our clients to meet with an attorney and plan to fund a buyout with life insurance. This can give them a lot of peace of mind.
SM: Is Key4Women a local program?
KZW: It is nationwide. We have a designated relationship manager in each of our markets and although each market is different, women's issues and programs are similar. The Capital Region embraced the program early on. With four senior bankers, we have a great deal of experience on our team.
SM: There are some banks that might push the loan to aggressively fund a woman's business loan...
KZW: Exactly. While we counsel our clients and review their loan and possible expansion in a positive and aggressive manner, we know when to guide the client toward a different path, especially if there's a chance that a loan and expansion might not work. Because if you see that they can't handle the future debt load, it is better to address the issue now than default later. We want our clients to be successful. Every client should have their three advisors; their attorney, their banker and their CPA review any new business or expansion of their existing business.
SM: Karen, what does success mean to you?
KZW: Success to me, professionally, is the success of my clients and being their trusted advisor. At the end of the day it is extremely gratifying to me when you take a business that is just starting out and help them obtain a loan that allows them to reach their dream and have success. It is a win-win situation.
SM: What about personally, what does success mean to you personally?
KZW: It is about family. I have two children and a wonderful husband, and we spend as much quality family time together as possible.
SM: What do you see in your future?
KZW: I see challenges, and having Key's regional office here is one of them. We are not just limited to our region. But with these challenges comes tremendous opportunity. In fact, I recently had the opportunity to spend time with our CEO Henry Meyer, and we talked about the potential for KeyBank within our markets. So it's working to realize this potential that makes the job fun. And I love to have fun. If you can have fun at work and at home and with your clients it is a win-win situation all around.
SM: In one word how would you describe KeyBank and your career here?
KZW: Success, I don't want to use your word, but the word success best describes KeyBank, my career here and my future with Key4Women at our corporation.
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