by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
David Davis, Compass Bank’s number two guy locally, is headed for Texas to help that region in the same manner he has helped all of Compass’ Florida and South Alabama offices grow the last 12 years. Under Bob White, Davis has been a part of one of the nation’s steadiest growing banks.
In 1984, Davis was with Florida National Bank. Several years later, as Davis was climbing banking’s corporate ladder, Florida National became First Union. In 1990, when Davis joined Central Bank of the South — which became Compass Bank a few years later — he was immediately named vice president and manager of commercial marketing.
Two years after joining Compass, Davis was a nominee for the Alabama Bankers’ Association’s “Outstanding Young Banker in Alabama” for his efforts in Birmingham. A year later, he was promoted to regional sales manager for north Alabama and in 1996 was named city retail executive for Jacksonville and eventually became executive vice president of retail sales.
During this time, retail sales — including new business and personal accounts — have increased in Davis’ region, which was Compass’ top-performing region in 1999 and 2000. The company, as a whole, has done well, too. For 14 consecutive years, earnings per share have increased while dividends per share have increased for 21 straight years.
This is not all Davis’ doings, but he has played a lead role in growing the bank locally.
With the promotion came the U-Haul, and leaving Jacksonville with his wife for Compass headquarters in Birmingham was a tough decision.
“I left Jacksonville thinking I’d never come back,” said Davis, who graduated from Stetson University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and from Jacksonville University in 1986 with a master’s degree in business.
After six years of helping take Compass to new heights as one the country’s hottest, up-and-coming banks, Davis was sent back to Jacksonville, a move that was initially seen as bittersweet. While Davis had adopted Jacksonville as home, his family dynamics changed while in Birmingham and he had grown to like the town.
“I was asked to grow the banking business in Florida the way we had in Birmingham,” said Davis, who grew up in Winter Park, but graduated from Terry Parker High School. “I was happy to come back. But, it was also hard. Our children were born there and we liked Birmingham a lot. But, it was exciting to come back.”
Once back in Jacksonville, Davis was named city retail executive and immediately set out to establish Compass as a force in the area.
Mission accomplished. As the years passed, Compass ascended the national banking ladder and today is the 31st largest bank in the United States with $23 billion in assets, offices in seven Sun Belt states and 340 full-service offices overall. And, for almost each year with Compass, Davis has needed a new business card: new year, new title.
His personal success and achievements as regional retail executive/executive vice president haven’t gone unnoticed. In fact, Davis has been asked to perform his magic in Texas and will soon leave Jacksonville. Once again, the moving truck will visit Davis’ house, and once again he’ll accept the challenge of taking a region of Compass Bank to new levels. And, once again, Davis agonized a bit over the move.
“Yes, I am going to miss Jacksonville. It was such a hard decision,” said Davis. “I have a great team of people here and the region is the top-rated in the company. It’s tough to leave that, but there is a very good team in Texas.”
Compared to other career decisions Davis has made, accepting the job and moving to Houston appears low-risk. He will inherit the company’s biggest regional bank, which is producing numbers that are solid, but not exceptional. Like a good mechanic, he’ll tweak and adjust things until the engine runs smoothly. The same can’t be said about a decision Davis made a dozen years ago.
“I actually did take a risk,” said Davis of leaving First Union for Central Bank of the South. “First Union was very well known and I had never even heard of Central Bank of the South when they contacted me.”
“They” were Compass executives and “they” gave Davis a terrific sales pitch. So intrigued was Davis, he opted to leave the security of an established bank and go with a little known upstart based in Alabama, not exactly the banking capital of the country. Any hesitations Davis may have had about joining Compass were quickly put to rest.
“I was so impressed with the people at the bank,” he said. “The bank is 37 years old now and it was 25 years old then. In that 37-year history, there have only been two chief executive officers and it’s been great to know both of them — Henry Brock and Paul Jones. I was just so impressed with the leadership of the bank and their vision of banking. It was a risk worth taking.”
In the Texas region, Davis is inheriting the bank’s largest geographical market that doesn’t have numbers to match its size. Davis says he’s not being asked to go to Texas because his work here is done. Rather, the Texas region represents a chance to put his mark on another area for Compass and turn that region’s potential into one of the most impressive banking regions in the country.
“There are still things we can accomplish here,” said Davis, adding that whoever takes his place in Jacksonville will take over a region already laced with talented, hard-working Compass people who have played a major role in the bank’s and Davis’ success. “Houston is an opportunity to take a very good team and help them get better.”
While Davis will spend the first few weeks getting to know hundreds of people, the Compass employees in the Texas region will quickly learn one thing about Davis: attitude is everything to Davis and those with a good outlook on life, both personally and professionally, will go a long way.
“I have always been a believer that the most important thing to take to the table is attitude, a very positive attitude,” he said. “You are only as successful as the people around you. I have always surrounded myself with people with good attitudes. Motivated, hard workers help create a really positive team.
“That has worked here. Our sales numbers are improving and our customer service results are improving. Our turnover rate is very low and that’s a good sign. We have tried to create an atmosphere that people want to join and want to stay. We certainly pay competitively and realize that the little things make a difference.
“As I came up in banking, I saw that the people I represented rarely came out of the branches. When I go to a branch, the first thing I do is stop by and spend time with the tellers and tell them how valuable they are. They have the most interaction with the customers.”
In a few weeks, Davis will be logging more frequent flyer miles than a Major League Baseball player as he commutes between Jacksonville and Houston. Until a replacement is named here, Davis will handle both regions. By June, Davis plans to be in Houston full-time, along with his family. However, don’t be surprised if — once again — Davis has a 904 area code. “Yes, it’s hard to leave. Absolutely,” said Davis, who is also a bit reluctant to leave his volunteer work, which includes donating his time and effort to the I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless, the Urban League and Baptist Hospital Foundation. “I have 15 years invested in Jacksonville and I am so happy here. “I like to consider myself a young man at 40, but I have already started to talk about coming back here when I retire. We just love the area so much.”