Mary McGovern
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Country Bank
Age: 59
Industry experience: 36 years
Mary McGovern is currently transitioning to become the first woman president of $1.8 billion-asset Country Bank. As a chief financial officer experienced in crunching the numbers, McGovern views the external-facing aspect of becoming a bank president – and eventually the CEO – both a challenge and a thrill, and she hopes to be an example to women bank executives who aspire to lead a bank as the top executives.
Before her first finance officer job in the former Boston Private Bank & Trust in 1988, McGovern worked in the retirement plans division of Fidelity Investments. With a master’s degree from Babson College, she’s a former controller for Capital Crossing Bank, the 12-year chief accounting officer for the then-Danversbank and has been CFO at Country Bank since 2011.
Q: What is it like to be chosen as the first woman president and CEO of the bank?
A: I think it helps the industry for people to see that a woman can ascend to this level. It’s unfortunate that even in 2024, there are so few in a room of bank CEOs that are women. If I can do anything to put a spotlight on that and try to show other women, who are maybe in a senior roll at another institution, that they should try to get to the CEO level, I would just be so happy to try to make an impact in that way.
Internally as well, I received so many messages from fellow employees at Country Bank and they are happy to see a woman ascend to this role. I think it’s forward-thinking of Country Bank to put me in this role. Rather than [the bank] plucking someone from the outside that has to understand Country Bank, with my tenure of 13 years, it’s perfect for continuing the momentum that we have. I understand who we are, I want to continue our mission, and I think we’ll be able to move forward and not lose a beat. Paul [Scully] remains the CEO, and eventually, I need to hire my own COO [chief operating officer] so that they can take on a portion of what is under me currently.
Q: How did your role as CFO help in your future role as president?
A: CFOs know how a bank operates from a financial statement perspective, which is helpful, but I don’t think it’s the only skill that I’ll need. People skills are really important, being the face of the bank out in the market. [As CFO] I was mostly internally focused, and this will be an externally focused role that is different for me, but I am excited for it. I think we’re in a world when CEOs don’t just sit in desks anymore. You need to be out there on the street, they need to know you’re in the room. I am excited to learn and continue Paul’s legacy as a CEO and leave my impact on the institution.
Q: What are your visions and concrete plans for Country Bank moving forward?
A: Short-term, there might be some internal structural changes, but a lot will remain the same. I am encouraging and empowering many others in our divisions to be out and known in the market as well. We became inward looking and just trying to survive during the pandemic, but now that we’re getting back out in the market, we’re letting our people be known especially in growth areas where Country Bank is a partner that really wants to serve the community as well as our customers and expand our business.
I will be getting more involved with the Mass. Bankers Association, making connections out there in the market, even with our competitors, and reaching out to other women CEOs here in Massachusetts. It would be terrific to understand their journeys, what they went through, and [become] sounding boards that way. The CEO role can be very solitary, you are in charge of it all. So, I think establishing a network and being out there in different local chambers – Worcester and Springfield Chambers – will be very good for the bank and for my personal growth as well.
Q: Banks are increasingly trying to capture the Central and Western Massachusetts markets, Country Bank’s home. What is the bank doing to be competitive?
A: It’s become quite competitive. We have business development offices in Worcester and Springfield, and have done quite a bit of commercial lending in those regions. Worcester, especially, has a lot of competitors come into the market, from Rockland Trust to [JPMorgan] Chase. We’re not the only ones that see the opportunity there. We are trying to be visible in the community by putting up a big sign for three years now, supporting the local Worcester Red Sox. It’s a big investment, thinking it would help us get our name out there; brand recognition is really important. That brick-and-mortar strategy to reach our customers will continue.
We don’t have a banking center in Springfield, but we’re looking for locations to fill in that gap because certain customers want to come into a branch and do their banking in-person. Right now, we are offering solutions such as online banking and ACH. We try to also reach people through social media, ads and TV. It’s a combination of different strategies.
It’s interesting to see different competitors because we see their locations pop up in areas with money. They put a branch down next to one that has a lot of deposits and just try to take it. At the end of the day, we offer the same banking and lending products, but that’s why it’s important for us to have your people on the street to be visible, attending events, and connecting, networking and building roots with those in the community. So, people will think of you when they need, for example, a commercial loan…As a community bank, we want make money but we also want to make sure that when you bank with us and when we make money, we’re putting it back into the community, right where you live.
Others [competitors] are closing locations and making them strictly digital, putting up ITMs or ATMs, and there are others that are a fraction of the size of what they are today. But I think community banks are going the other way and investing in the actual building with employees trying to service people that want to bank in person. There is no question that the usage of digital has increased, but for certain life changing things like a mortgage, some people still want to be face-to-face with a banker, and not do it online.
Also, we are trying to be more diverse, too, since we’ve been exposed and educated to low- and moderate-income communities in Worcester and Springfield. People that are Hispanic, Black or Asian, they want to be served by someone who looks like them. For us, we will take care of any customer that walks through the door and puts in an application for a mortgage, but sometimes, we just don’t get people that are diverse, and that is now our challenge. We continue to focus on doing first-time home buyer programs and financial literacy programs for the community, and we try to make those certain segments more comfortable with us to come and bank with us.
McGovern’s Favorite Flowers
- Lilacs
- Hydrangeas
- Iris
- Tulips
- Snapdragons
