075 | Head of Branch Banking with Jeffrey Martinez

In this episode, Jeffrey Martinez, head of branch banking at PNC Bank, shares his remarkable journey from a bank teller to an executive leader within one of America's largest retail banks. Jeff highlights the vital role his immigrant upbringing and family values have played in shaping his aspirations and decisions throughout his career. He candidly discusses the challenges he faced in making the leap from JPMorgan Chase to PNC, emphasizing the courage it takes to embrace change and pursue growth.

• The importance of stability in career decisions 
• Embracing risks and the power of curiosity 
• Fostering a culture of trust and empathy in leadership 
• The role of financial wellness in community upliftment 
• Personal stories of growth accelerating career progression 
• Navigating the complexities of corporate transitions 
• Empowering employees to uplift clients and communities 
• The focus on continual learning and development 
• The importance of mentorship and giving back 
• Reflection on the American Dream and its broader implications 

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Disclaimer:

The thoughts, views, and opinions expressed on Career Cheat Code are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, affiliated organizations & employers. This podcast is intended for informational and inspirational purposes, highlighting the guests and their unique career journeys. We hope these stories inspire you to chase your purpose, define success on your own terms & take the next step in your career.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I think when I had told my dad I was leaving Chase,
I think he almost had a heartattack.
I mean, just again back to thestability.
And you know, as a firstgeneration, like first time
college graduate in the family,all the things that come from an
immigrant Cuban dad and animmigrant Colombian mom, the
stability that I had 11 yearsago was like for them.
The destination, it was likecheck, I did all I did to get my

(00:23):
son to where he needed to.
Then you come home and you sayyou know I'm thinking of taking
a risk here.
That isn't welcome, that isn'twelcomed in an immigrant Like
you know.
It's like hey, I took all therisks for you, you got a good
job, good company, and so it'shard, but yet for sure.
The best decision I've made inmy life was to shift over to PNC

(00:43):
, but it came with a lot ofheadwinds.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Welcome to Career Cheat Code.
In this podcast, you'll hearhow everyday people impact the
world through their careers.
Learn about their journey,career hacks and obstacles along
the way.
Whether you're already havingthe impact you want or are
searching for it, this is thepodcast for you.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
All right, jeffrey, welcome to the show.
Thank you, I appreciate takingthe time and I'm excited to just
dive right in and tell theworld all of the things about
your career path.
So let's dive right in, man.
Let's tell the world what it isyou do for a living.
Yeah, man, Excited.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
So yeah, jeff Martinez, proud to be the head
of branch banking for PNC Bankwhich, for those out there, it's
the fourth largest retail bankin the country.
So it comprises of almost 2,300branches, 15,000 employees in
30 states.
So your day-to-day banking,walking in for a checking
account, savings, mortgage,investments business all falls

(01:35):
in my world.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
Wow.
So what does that mean?
So when you walk in on Monday,what does your job look like?
What are you responsible for?
Speak a little bit more aboutkind of what the impact of your
role is.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah, good question.
God.
Sports is like any given SundayI guess in my world could be in
any given Monday which means youknow there's a lot of variables
.
You know, like I mentioned, whenyou are responsible for almost
2,300 physical locations inwhich 15,000 employees lead that
on a daily basis, all inservice of almost 12 million

(02:08):
clients, so people at the coreof it a lot of things could
happen, a lot of great thingshappen, and so what we are
basically focused on is bringingfinancial wellness to every
corner of the geographies thatwe lead in and so often depends
down to the client.
So it's hard to say it's a onesize fits all, as your financial

(02:30):
journey could be completelydifferent than mine, and so,
whether it's career, profession,age, wealth, affluence,
upbringing, all of that comesinto the form of a conversation
which our bankers and managersare there to help and service,
and so it's all about makingeveryone a little bit better on
their financial work journey,regardless of the way they

(02:51):
interact with us in a physicalbranch, digitally, over the
phone so, again, that has a lotof potential changes on a Monday
, tuesday, friday, but again, Iknow and believe we have the
best financial professionals inthe industry ready to have a
conversation with everyone.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
That's great.
So for you, what is that likegeographical kind of
jurisdiction look like how fardoes your portfolio kind of
reach?

Speaker 1 (03:28):
coast to coast.
So we go as northeast as Boston, down to Miami, across Texas,
into California, up intoWisconsin, chicago, michigan,
and so, again, most of weoperate today in 26 of the 30
largest MSAs in this country.
So, yes, that's a battleagainst time zones, obviously,
again, geographical differences,and so all that is done.
I'm one person, so I'mfortunate to have a tremendous

(03:50):
senior leadership group, both atthe territory executive and
market manager level, that,again, live in, know their
geographies really well, sothings that yet often I'm
involved with, but they are thesubject matter experts, and so,
just like in any largeorganization I'm involved with,
but they are the subject matterexperts, and so, just like in
any large organization, I'm onlyas good as my next level
leadership.
And so for me it's really beenconcentrated on leading my next

(04:13):
six direct reports in a way thatallows them to funnel the
strategy, clarity of messageimpact out into our communities
in a tangible and accountableway.
And then you see that flow, andso you know again, probably one
of my biggest things is how doI ensure that the message is
going from me down to a bank ora teller in the same way it

(04:36):
would to my next line of directreports, and so it's like a
grown up phone tag.
But the consequences are a lot,and also the reward.
So just making sure that againyour clarity of message can be
the make or break in a week, amonth or in really your
organization strategy.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
That makes a lot of sense.
It sounds like a lot ofresponsibility and it sounds
like it definitely requires agood team of dedicated
individuals to pull it all off.
Yeah, what would you say isyour favorite part of your role?

Speaker 1 (05:10):
Oh, the people I mean .
Ultimately, I'm fortunate andhumbled to have started as one
of those part-time tellers.
So it's a little bit of aCinderella story of being able
to grow through the ranks and soteller, banker manager,
regional manager, market manager, territory exec, and so knowing
what that feels like in thejourney.
So I am my own benefactor ofwhat a strong career can mean

(05:31):
for someone in the rightorganization and institution and
so being able to pass thatalong.
So first, on the employee side,developing, nurturing,
recruiting, retaining the besttalent is how you get to be able
to tell these generationalstories of humble beginnings to

(05:51):
lasting impact and legacy, andso trying to deliver that.
Uh.
And again, look, there's onlyone role, there's only one of me
at pnc bank, and so you knowit'd be hard to create 20.
Uh, that that's just not theway.
But to be able to see careersstart from Teller and today be
branch managers, be regionalmanagers, providing for their

(06:11):
families, so it's truly a beliefwhen you work in the financial
services industry.
It has to start from within.
Our people.
My people have to believefinancial wellness is achievable
in their own life before theycan preach it to any client.
So you have to be able to.
You can't create a disconnectthere, and so it really has to
start from within, as yourealize, and try to make my

(06:34):
story come true in differentways for others, again, through
development, hard work, grit,resilience, development.
Then how does that transfer toyour client?
And so being able to be in aplace where seeing people
purchase their home for thefirst time, get a vehicle for
the first time these arequintessential to social
mobility, and so you'll findoften landing someone, whether

(06:58):
in a low to moderate incomecommunity, suburbia, rural
America, the inner city everyonehas their own journey.
But you understand that a yesfrom a financial institution
usually is the runway or therails for other great things to
happen.
So you get a car, maybe youland a better job, you get a
home, you start building afamily, you start, there's other

(07:20):
things that start maturing, andso if you invest in that, in
your employees, create beliefthat it can happen to anyone,
you transfer that motivation toyour clients and then you're
able to start seeing greatstories happen.
So I think I'm in the businessof making great things happen
for families in terms of socialmobility, economic mobility, and

(07:42):
again, that happens, oneconversation at a time, and I
think in 2024, we had a littleover three and a half million
pre-scheduled appointments.
So think about that, what Ijust labeled happening over
almost 4 million times in a yearas we try to set to break a
record and do that 5 milliontimes in 2025.
It's just great things that arehappening.

(08:04):
So a lot of clarity for ourcommunities on how to move
forward financially.

Speaker 3 (08:09):
That's remarkable and I appreciate what you shared,
which, partly as someone inleadership now.
One, you get more, I think,buy-in from your team when they
know you've literally been intheir seats and have done their
role.
And then, two, as you said,motivates of, motivates them to
like recognize that, likeeconomic mobility is possible,
right, like you roll through theranks in this company and are

(08:29):
able to like continue to advanceyour own career and your own
personal success in a way thatI'm sure is inspiring to the
folks that are working there.
It's like all right, this is,this is possible.
So can you, can you speak alittle bit more about that
journey?
How long have you been withthis particular company, with
PNC?

Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah, so, on the heels of 11 years, spent the
prior 11 years at JPMorgan Chasein a similar capacity.
So I moved over laterally 11years ago.
So I used to run the branchesout in Northwest Queens and then
had a again a similar lateralrole to do that in Northern New
Jersey.
Tough decision to make.

(09:09):
It was outside of my time inthe Army, really was the first
leap into what I would call myprofessional career.
And then again just foundmyself.
I don't know.
I don't know if it wasnecessarily aspiring to do more.
I was trying to really startadding definitive mark to my own
leadership stand and I justfelt just like, with curiosity,

(09:32):
which often is something thatmotivates me I'm just curious by
nature and so I kind of followthese curious paths.
But I wanted to go to a placewhere maybe I can showcase my
skill sets a little different.
I didn't take that decisionlightly.
It took about 14 months for meto finally make that move.
Again, if you look at my resume, you won't find someone who

(09:55):
leaps from one journey toanother.
I think there is value andloyalty in having a maturing
career, in your ability to notonly beat the goals that are set
in front of you, but to beatyourself one year over the other
year, and so often we claimvictory after one year of
success but then are nervous totry to do it again next year.

(10:17):
Those are the things I love.
I hold myself to a very highstandard and so in 25, I'm going
to compete against 2024 Chase,2024 Jeff, and so that's always
a big part Now in terms of mytime at Chase and again
appreciated the path becausethat got me from teller to
regional manager and then foundmyself here again leading in a

(10:41):
similar capacity.
But my leadership skills Iprobably had more confident in
how I showcase them, where Ithink there's any time where
you're trying to look up andtrying to emulate others versus
trying to, like, dig in deeperto who you are and what you
bring to the table.
And I think that's what.
When I made the leap to PNC, yes, I was nervous because it's a

(11:04):
time like should I be like thatother person I think is
successful, or do I becomemyself in what I deem the path
towards successes?
So, again, some of that comeswith age, professional maturity,
but then, yeah, for the last 11years I've seen again some very
humbling success, but I thinkwhat's all centered is just hard

(11:24):
work, some very humblingsuccess, but I think what's all
centered is just hard work.
I think today, you know, weoften dilute what hard work is,
and I think there's adifferentiation between doing
your job, doing your job welland doing your job better than
it's ever been done.
Like the latter gets attention,and so you know.
I think it's really how youpersonally, or everyone, sets
their own bar.
I try to figure out, like Ilove when someone says, but

(11:46):
that's never been done before.
That's like you want tomotivate me.
Tell me something that's neverbeen done, as long as the laws
of physics allow it to happen,and then you just create a
scalable path towards success,not just one individual, you

(12:09):
know, that wants to breakrecords.

Speaker 3 (12:11):
No, that's great, and I also you know, I think it.
I appreciate you sharing kindof making that leap right,
because it can be a scary moment.
Right, If you've been somewherefor 11 years, that means that's
what you and your family areaccustomed to.
That means you have alreadyprogressed in your career and
are at a comfortable level whereyou're like I can continue to
do this and just keep growinghere forever.
Right, that's right.
But you saw a gap in your ownprofessional development and you

(12:34):
said you know what?
I think I can take what I'velearned here and go implement
that somewhere else in a waythat can change things up.
And now, 11 years later, youbasically have a whole nother
career in another place.

Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, it's funny.
You mentioned about thestability.
I think when I had told my dadI was leaving Chase, I think he
almost had a heart attack.
I mean just again back to thestability.
And you know, as a firstgeneration, like first time
college graduate in the family,all the things that come from an
immigrant Cuban dad and animmigrant Colombian mom, the
stability that I had 11 yearsago was like for them.

(13:10):
The destination, it was likecheck, I did all I did to get my
son to where he needed to.
Then you come home and you say,you know I'm thinking of taking
a risk here.
That isn't welcome, that isn'twelcomed in an immigrant Like
you know.
It's like, hey, I took all therisks for you.
You got a good job.
Your family, both loved ones,your parents, that this is the
right decision, you know,definitely cements you in your

(13:51):
decision, cause if you can'ttalk them into why you're doing
it, you'll either talk yourselfout, but but again, you know, I
know they're, they're both proud.
Obviously, since then my, mydad has passed, but my mom, you
know, continues to ask me everyday if you know if my teller box
has been proven out.
I'm like, sure, yeah, I guessyou know, even though you know
they can't naturally grasp what,what I do every day, they

(14:13):
understand.
You know hey do some bigbanking pieces.
But yeah, for us in ourcommunity it's definitely a big
family decision when it comes tomaking that big leap, when you
felt like you may have, you know, hit a spot that generationally
your family has never achieved.

Speaker 3 (14:28):
Absolutely, that's a lot of weight to carry, but that
is also the reality for a lotof black and brown communities,
especially those that are likefirst generation or first to go
to college or any of those islike in the eyes of others.
We've made the destination, asyou said, but the practicality
is, if we decide to own ourcareers, that can be the floor
in some ways right.

(14:49):
So we can go well beyond thatand we have a vision of what
that could look like.
But the folks around us thathave sacrificed so much to get
us to that point may not be ableto see to that level yet or to
that destination that we have inmind yet, and sometimes it's
not even clear to us.
But we say let's leap forwardand try to make it work though.

Speaker 1 (15:08):
Yeah, look, it's back to the curiosity.
Like I think many of us, ourcareers are a reflection of how
far we can see or believe, andso, like for my family, my
parents, maybe they never evensaw as far as that last position
at Chase, and so sometimes youcan get grounded, maybe that I
never even saw as far as thatlast position at Chase, and so

(15:28):
sometimes you can get groundedlike that can be your
destination and so, but ifyou're constantly curious like
well, what would next be like,what would that be?
And again kind of a coreprinciple of mine, you know
you're like all right, let'stake this leap.
And again I think, as the shiftin career company, you know,
I've become so much moreingrained in what I bring to the
table, which again is earnedover time and worked at and

(15:49):
validated both externally andinternally.
I said, why not?
What makes someone elsedifferent, the person who has
that job?
What do they bring to the tablethat I don't?
And in some cases they do bringdifferent things.
So you either choose to learnit, rise up to those
expectations, walk away I justI'm not a walk away kind of guy.
You know, like let's figurethis out, let me go and again

(16:12):
lessons learned, you pivot, youshift, you learn, you humble
yourself, but you're stillalways in forward progression
versus trying to feel stagnantat any point.
Just don't do well withstagnation.

Speaker 3 (16:24):
Absolutely, I love, I love that.
So let's go back, let's talkabout your upbringing.
Were you born, raised, and whatwas that like?
And around age 16, what did youthink you were going to do with
your life?
Oh God, Crazy.

Speaker 1 (16:37):
So I was born and raised in Hudson County, new
Jersey, so Union City, rightacross the river, which today
it's even a primarily LatinoHispanic community, probably 98%
Hispanic.
It's why my mom still doesn'tknow English because she walks
up and down the streets ofBergen Line Avenue and you don't
need any English to be up anddown Bergen Line, and so it

(17:00):
resembles again a lot of thecommunities out in New York City
, washington Heights, the Bronx,and so at one point it was
predominantly a veryCuban-centric community, as
you'll find throughout thecountry, and what I've seen is

(17:26):
it could be diverse, but itcould be heavy Mexican or heavy
Dominican.
I like the diversity of thispart of New Jersey because it's
very, you know, very diverse ina diverse community.
You know grew up in a lowerincome household, lived in a
four story walk up, so I thinkthat's why I remained fit.
Lower income household, livedin a four-story walk-up, so I

(17:46):
think that's why I remained fit.
I remember when my dad would dogroceries, having to walk up
and down four flights of stairsabout five, six times before he
got the groceries in, kept mefit.
Also kept me loving constantmobility and sports and my
parents never owned a home as achild.
So we rented forever.
My parents really focused oneducation and so where they

(18:08):
might have used that money forvacations which we had very few
or home ownership, they put intoboth of their kids' education.
So my sister and I went to aCatholic school nearby that I
think also grounded us, not onlyin at the time, maybe a little
bit of a better education, butjust being good people.
And then went to an all-boysCatholic high school in Jersey

(18:30):
City, hudson Capital, that Ithink again smaller school, just
trying to, you know, again,coming from religious parents,
found that you know theconsequences that religion
brings to an upbringing wasgoing to be beneficial and it
helped.
And then ultimately went toRutgers University again here in
New Jersey, which againappreciate every aspect of my

(18:53):
education.
And at 16, you know I'dprobably say there was an.
You know computers.
I was intrigued by computers atthe time is that you know they
were starting to really becomemainstream.
I always say I always had thissalesman environment or
embodiment of a good talker.

(19:13):
So being young, encouraged tobe an attorney, a lawyer, go
into business, I remember forall the fundraisers selling
chocolates I'd have to go sellmine and sell my sister's,
because she was very introvertedand timid, and so I had two
classes worth of chocolates tosell and we'd knock it out in
two hours.

(19:33):
And so there was always thisentrepreneurial spirit.
I joke, even though it's true.
I remember I was a businessowner at nine years old.
And it's true.
I remember going up and downBergen Line Avenue back to the
theme of not staying still twoof my neighbor neighborhood
friends we wanted to washwindows.
You know, in an urbanenvironment I always saw like

(19:54):
car washes on TV, like Saved bythe Bell, would do a car wash to
raise money or whatever.
Now I can't do no car wash inthe middle of an inner city, but
there's definitely plenty ofstorefronts.
And so I remember I'd go up anddown Bergen Line Avenue with
two of my friends with myparents' Windex bounty.
So of course it was an easy wayto make money because I was

(20:15):
paying for nothing, just usingall their stuff and probably
walking into stores undercuttingthe real person who was washing
their windows.
Again, you got a cutenine-year-old saying, hey, I'll
wash your windows for $2 or $3to get comic book cards.
And so I remember, from 9 to 12, 13, every Saturday, sunday

(20:35):
probably, go out and wash 20, 30storefront windows, made my own
money, bought the you knowthings that I wanted.
So I think early on there wasalways a spark of
entrepreneurialism.
You know, being a very socialkid, that ultimately helped
throughout, whether academicallyor ultimately professionally.

(20:55):
You know, maybe the only thingin that upbringing that I didn't
have charted out was my time inthe army.
That was a little bit of a leftfield way to pay for college,
but but love again theleadership principles that I was
able to get from from thosenine years.

Speaker 3 (21:12):
Wow, okay, so a few things there.
One at nine years old you werethinking about how to make some
income by going out toWashington and that's like that
is very unique and very much notlike the norm for a lot of our
bringings right.
Like at nine, I was probablyjust home watching, you know,
teenage Mutant Ninja Turtleswhile you were out right, and

(21:36):
figuring that part out, and youknow I always it's interesting.
I don't know, maybe there'ssomething to the just Latino
seeing your parents here.
But like, for me, part of itwas like I got a job when I was
like 12.
Right, and I was like, yeah, itjust made sense and that was
normal.
But like at nine, like what,what in you do you remember kind
of what you were thinking atthe time around, why that was an

(21:57):
important thing to do?

Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, in its simplest form.
I wanted comic books andplaying cards.
You know I wanted.
I wanted to get the next packof baseball cards so I can get a
God at that time.
You know, probably not as earlyas like the time of Nolan Ryan
or Ken Griffey Jr, but I justknew I wanted something and
financially it just wasn't aplace where my parents can

(22:18):
provide, not because theywouldn't have wanted to.
So you find yourself probablylike most people, not only just
as kids but as adults.
What happens when you wantsomething and hopefully the want
has changed from a kid to anadult, but I just it's either
you succumb to this, no, I'llnever have it, or you have the
mindset that says I'm going toget it.

(22:39):
And I think the mindset thatwas being built at the time, 33
years ago, because I'm 42 todaywas a mindset that I've carried
on.
And so it's a good question toask, because I think it was
probably the first timeconsciously you decide without a
catalyst of something to changeI'm not going to get it.

(22:59):
Now that catalyst could also besomething negative.
I think for many people that'sthe time where they choose a
different path to get something.
Mine was work, mine was tryingto figure out a solution and
again I remember being I know itwas warmer out and kind of
joking with these two friendsaround like do we wash cars?
What do we get?
And you came to this thing.

(23:20):
Well, it's easy Windex, you,spray down, I can do that, I
don't need a lot of technicalthings, water and a hose, and
then that carried on andultimately, like I said,
probably till 12 at 12.
So I started working for myfather's business on the
embroidery so we're probablymost summers for kids and I had

(23:41):
a ton of fun, but a lot of thatwas going to my dad's embroidery
and helping him out for youknow, for pennies to the dollar,
but that's what you did in afamily business.
So I think I've never beenscared to work.
I've never been scared of hardwork.
I've never been scared ofgetting my hands dirty, and
that's still so true today.
Differently, like for me, maybe, going right to a branch and
understanding what's happening,not trying to take a spreadsheet

(24:03):
or words, but seeing it,hearing it and feeling it.
That I love and that often inanyone who'll tell you I believe
at PNC if I walk in and thelobby's dirty, I'm not telling
someone to clean that up.
I'm cleaning it up Now.
If they're busy, right.
If they're busy, I'm theretelling them to clean up.
If they're doing nothing,there's some lessons learned at
that moment.
But I have no problem inassisting and doing.

(24:25):
I like it, I appreciate it.
I want to be the catalyst forchange through my actions, not
my words.

Speaker 3 (24:32):
That's great.
So many gems there, and Iappreciate you sharing that
because I think that's somethingthat says a lot about your
leadership and your leadershipstyle, right, and just something
that as we progress in ourcareers, like literally rolling
up your sleeves and say, hey,let's go do this thing, is
important, and I just think it'sreceived differently from
leadership.
Folks are able to do that.

Speaker 1 (24:53):
Yeah, and it's a strength, it's a power and, as
others think about the benefitof having done all these jobs,
it gets empowering.
There's a sense ofaccountability when you do it.
And so back to this example of,like a dirty entrance, the
accountability to that team tosee me go find something to
clean that up, and the teamaround saying, hey, this is a

(25:13):
leader layers and layers abovewhat they may be used to
interacting with on a dailybasis and they did it To the
right person.
You get a sense ofself-reflection that says why
didn't I do it?
Why did it take Jeff to come inbefore that was fixed?
And so I've found that leadingby example showcases again your

(25:35):
ability to roll up your sleevesand be part of the team.
But the accountability thatthat drives again to the right
audience, it's tenfold in sayinghey, your lobby's dirty
audience, it's tenfold in sayinghey, your lobby's dirty.
So I use it in a place that itempowers and accelerates my
leadership, not just because weshouldn't have a dirty lobby I

(25:56):
mean we shouldn't Clients, Iwant it to be like someone's
home but just it helps reallypush people forward.
When you see their leader go upand take it, you know they
reflect on their own leadership.

Speaker 3 (26:07):
Can you speak a little bit about your transition
into the army, how you gotthere, kind of your time there
and then the transition and thatmoment where you decided to
also get out?
Yeah, so hopefully the audienceis like man.

Speaker 1 (26:18):
He talked nine years in the army, 11 years at Chase,
11 years at PNC.
He either really exfoliates orthere's something that overlaps.
And so the Army's kind ofoverlaps with both my time at
college at Rutgers as well as agood chunk of my time at Chase,
and so I was a sophomore atRutgers, was dating a girl whose

(26:40):
brother was in the ArmyNational Guard and kind of now
wrapping up my third semester.
This is pre-Iraq War, post 9-11, but pre-Iraq War.
So still some action happeningin Afghanistan, not a ton, not
big deployments.
And so in meeting I said look,rutgers, it's a state school,
you get to go for free.
I was a little bit worriedabout some of the scholarships

(27:01):
and grants that I had been given, just trying to maintain all
that.
And he's like man, don't worry,school's free, you get a small
stipend every month and youdrink beer and shoot guns.
And I'm like sign me up, man,that seems pretty good.
As I went, took a semester off,tried to curate it, so it was
just one semester off so I canjust come right back to college.

(27:22):
Well, during my time of basictraining the war in Iraq started
.
I had come back for a semesterand then got the orders to be
deployed.
So in 2004 through 2005, I spentjust shy of two years almost
two years deployed in OperationIraqi Freedom.
A year, a full year of that,was in country in Iraq and

(27:44):
learned a lot.
We had been reclassed asmilitary police so we were the
ones clearing the roads, basedout of Tikrit, so Saddam's
hometown, and it was tough.
I mean, it was for sure toughwe were not.
It was not actually that theyears in which I served earlier
on were the deadliest years ofthe Iraqi freedom campaign, and

(28:05):
so it was a tough environment.
So what do you do in a toughenvironment?
You either succumb to some ofthat, which, again, it's hard,
and you can't blame someone whohas it.
It takes a lot of mentalfortitude and resilience, but I
found myself again leaning intothis leadership that I've always
been curious around and tryingto refine, and I found myself

(28:26):
doing some real critical jobs,that first tour, primarily in
some of the intelligencebriefings, some of the things
that we led with some of theconvoy movements at a much more
junior rank.
And that's probably where thebiggest lesson that I've learned
throughout my career, which ishow to speak through value, not
speak to just be heard.
Because in some of thesemeetings I was overranked by two

(28:48):
to three grades.
And so in the military you canjust be, you know.
Like that's it.
You can be, you know, stoptalking in your tracks based on
the hierarchical system.
And so I found that I reallyhad to be thoughtful in the
words I was choosing, in theclarity and conciseness of my
message.
And when I built that, notbecause of my rank but because

(29:08):
of the value of the message, Iprobably became one of the most
referred to leaders in mycompany, again, much more junior
than some during that firsttour, but because I was seen as
valuable, as thought-provoking,as one that kept soldiers safe,
missions complete.
And then, just as that missionwas done and came back home and

(29:28):
started wrapping up myeducational career, my career
started moving.
I got deployed again, and soUncle Sam got a second
deployment out of me down inSouthern Iraq, in Basra, where
at the time we ran the largestdetainee facility in the world.
So a lot to manage back to the15,000 employees.
Almost 15, 16 years ago we had30, 32,000 detainees at a Camp

(29:56):
Bucca.
And so just the movement, thechoreography, the logistics
allowed me to start againrefining how do you control a
lot when you're in control ofvery little?
And back to this, like I'm onlyas good as my next line of
leadership.
I started to harness that in mysecond tour, like I can't all
this movement.
If I was the only one trying toown it all, failure was
inevitable.

(30:16):
But if I empowered, developed,coached, trained, held
accountable that next level ofleadership things move better.
Everyone had their purpose,everyone had their mission, and
then so that ended.
That was 08, 09.
I got out in December of 2011after, again, nine years of
service, not one because I, youknow, obviously I'm very

(30:39):
patriotic, but I didn't join forpatriotic reasons.
Back to the humility that comesfrom I needed money to get to
college I wanted to graduate, Iwanted to be a professional and
that was the easiest way that Ithought I can get it done.
You'd ask me now, over twoyears in another country, but
ultimately I would not tradethat for the world.

(31:01):
I mean those lessons learnedthat I used every day, and then
even my conversion back tocorporate America.
To me, leading people isleading people.
Motivating people is motivatingpeople.
A mission is a mission, and sothere's things core that, as
always, I get the commonquestion of this military to
civilian life transition.
I think it's just the way youdefine what you were doing.

(31:22):
Again, caring for people iscaring for people, in a war-like
environment or at home.
It still takes the right stringcords to do that.
Your critical thinking througha life and death mission versus
critical thinking through 2025'sstrategic planning.
It's still important Now.
It may not be the life ofsomeone, but it may be the

(31:43):
livelihood of someone that's atrisk, and all those drive a
tremendous sense ofresponsibility and urgency.
And so, again, I've maybe neverturned it off, turned it on.
It's always been the same wayof thinking.
You just have to kind ofreframe what's in front of you
Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (32:00):
I'm sure it brings a lot of different perspective and
understanding of what is urgentversus what is not.
I think this is the part whereI have to say absolutely Thank
you for your service.
Would be interesting to know ifa lot of this self-reflection
and awareness of the leadershipskills that you obtained, did
you recognize that in the moment, or is that more in hindsight,
right Like, were you thererealizing I have these missions,

(32:23):
I have these tasks, I havethese things I have to do?
This is ultimately shaping mefor a better future, or is it
more like get the job done, getback home safe and we'll figure
the rest out later?

Speaker 1 (32:33):
A hundred percent the latter, even though I'd be
lying, and you know what theysay.
Hindsight is, you know, isalways 20-20.
And I think where that samething you called out about at
that moment was very much aboutthe mission, very much about
completing it, getting peoplesafe.
But what I learned, not onlyfrom that, even my earlier parts
of career in banking and infinance, was, anytime I ever

(32:57):
looked back, there were alwayslessons to be learned.
Do now is shorten that learningcurve.
And so there's probably a lotmore reflections in the moment
today than there were back then.
Because, again, often I tellpeople you don't know the story
you're writing until you're ableto read back the chapters you

(33:18):
wrote.
Like God, you started with somequestions of early upbringing,
washing windows, immigrantfamily, an LMI, community
college, army God, it's abeautiful kind of tapestry of a
story.
Today, if you found me in anyone of those chapters, I
wouldn't even know how toconnect the dots between all of
them.
As you've now come in and againback to always being true to

(33:42):
myself, leading the way I wantto lead, you will always find
I'd rather fail being myselfthan succeed trying to be
someone else.
And so, like the things that Ipinpoint and the lessons learned
are real, true to me.
I never have to be like, well,man, you were trying to be like
rad, like, of course you failedin that, you were trying to

(34:04):
succeed as someone else.
And so today I'll talk to myteam.
I say one of the songs I playoften is Michael Jackson's man
in the Mirror.
And I always say it starts withme and anything, as I start, as
I debrief, as I reflect, whatcould I have done better, what
could I have done differently?
And so I always assume my ownkind of guilt in something

(34:29):
before I prove myself innocent,so kind of, you know, innocent
until proven guilty.
I treat myself as guilty untilproven innocent.
But through that kind ofinternal reflection has allowed
me then again back to likeempowering the urgency around
leadership, once I know it's notme and I know it's you, the

(34:51):
path to again your focus, yourdevelopment, your accountability
, whatever I have to do to movethe needle, it's so fast versus
like wait, maybe it was me,maybe it's this, maybe it's that
, like getting to that rootcause once beyond what you bring
to the table is such animportant, such an important
part, yeah, so to your question,yes, at the moment and there's

(35:11):
still some things that you needto get through first.
But if you can shorten yourlearning curve and that like
self-reflection, to be as in themoment as you, as best as you
can like, I just think you justmake off for a better leader,
better human, better managerwhen you're constantly looking
within versus looking out.

Speaker 3 (35:29):
That's great and you know you dropped a ton of gems
there.
I would ask if there areadditional kind of career cheat
codes that you've learned alongthe way that you know may be
helpful for someone starting onthe careers that sees you right

(35:49):
now that wants to be at thatkind of EVP level, right Like
when you look at your path,right Like maybe one of those
cheat codes is going to the armyand getting your college paid
for, right?
Maybe some of it is additionalthings, so we'd love to hear
some of them.

Speaker 1 (35:57):
Yeah, I'd say, you know, probably back to like.
Even why I said yes to the armywas back to curiosity, like I
think it's a mindset.
So there's things that are verytactical and tangible that
people can start doing, but ifthe mindset doesn't change it'll
be all for naught.
And maybe that's a little toorough, because any lesson

(36:18):
learned is important.
So I don't want to say againany step forward is an important
pace to take, but it's what isthe mindset that you're bringing
into it.
And so what was my mindsetgoing into the Army?
What was my mindset going intocorporate America, going into
college?
So that curiosity of wanting tolearn more, know more, be

(36:39):
informed, constantly learning isjust so critical if you're
going to do the most or best outof whatever journey you're in
front of.
The quote I probably use themost is no one cares what you
know until they know that youcare.
Where that's been one of themost impactful ones is early on

(37:00):
right.
So you kind of start paintingthis picture of I've always
wanted to exceed expectations,be the best, be number one, get
there faster than anyone.
But what I found earlier on isagain, that's good if you want
to go on your own.
But if you want to bring others, you have to set the tone
differently.
It doesn't mean you change yourbar, you change your

(37:21):
expectations, but it's muchdifferent to have a goal set for
yourself and a goal set forothers, like with a group, the
no one cares what you know untilthey know that you care.
To me has come from.
I've seen people with anawesome recipe and so probably
often like what are your cheatcodes that you bring to the
table?
I've learned the most Some ofthose cheat codes will lead

(37:44):
others behind.
Like that doesn't take awayfrom the pedigree of the
recommendation.
It may be gold.
It may be absolutely gold.
But if someone doesn't know thatyou care, they're not often
going to take all that advice.
And so there is a form of likehow do you build trust with an
audience, especially as thataudience gets bigger, where you

(38:07):
don't have to repeat yourself,because what?
Again?
Back to the self reflection.
The things I've had to repeatthe most often is the ones I
didn't stop to understand theaudience, stop to build trust.
And so when others may say,jeff, we don't have time to to
make sure everyone knows that wecare that this mission is
critical, well, that is oftenthe ones you reflect on, the

(38:29):
ones saying, well, why wasn'tthat mission successful?
Well, we lost the audience.
The audience was never in there,and so it's this constant gut
check.
How are the things?
I'm about to say, going to landon the people who are listening.
And then often you pivot fromsaying things to doing things,

(38:49):
because I think, and I've alwaysthought, words are cheap.
Actions is where value goes.
Now I will similarly say thatyou have to declare.
There is a sense ofaccountability in making that
verbal declaration out in frontof people.
You got to say it to believe it.
Making that verbal declarationout in front of people, you got
to say it to believe it.
But the turnaround time fromyour words to action have to be

(39:11):
almost zero.
I want to go to college.
I'm going to go and startGoogling best colleges to go in
and my application is in processby end of day tonight.
That is a declaration met withaction.
Often today, people, it's againthe difference between like a
dream versus anything else.
Like dreaming is cheap.
Actions is where the rubberhits the road, and so that kind

(39:36):
of constant theme around no onecares what you know until they
know that you care ensures thatthe world is more than just you.
It's those around you and thoseyou influence.
And then how does that getmarried to a sense of action
versus just a sense of you knowwords?

Speaker 3 (39:52):
That's great.
I love that and you know italso ties back into what you
mentioned earlier around tryingto shorten the like, learnings
from mistakes and, like itsounds like, generally part of
the theme for you is beingreflective and being intentional
with everything you do.
So you know, I appreciate yousharing that Very much From your
story.
You're very much, basically,the embodiment, the embodiment

(40:15):
of the American dream, right,and I say that knowing
wholeheartedly, like who I amand that I also embody that
Right and like we are kind ofthe legacy that our like parents
sought out to have and all thatright.
First, maybe it'd be helpfulfor you to share with the
audience how you and I gotconnected.

Speaker 1 (40:31):
Yeah yeah, yeah, no, it's, it's great.
Yeah, it's a good, goodquestion.
So I think about our awards.
So, not having known each otherbefore, and where are we, smith
and Walensky's?
What was the steakhouse?
Smith and and Willis right.
El Diario had selected the LAward.
Right, it was the L Award,which was pretty awesome.

(40:53):
Again, I did not expect it.
Appreciate the community andeveryone.
That again as a communityuplifting podcast, I love and
appreciate the visibility.
It was great seeing you at theAspen Institute advancing
economic pathways and focused onLatinos and Hispanics, and so

(41:14):
we found ourselves giving someremarks in this Elle Award that
I talked about, where Diariomeant for not only our community
but for my mom, my dad as well,and just hearing from them the
energy again what would havebeen a litany of accomplishments
, personally for me, for you,but then some of the things that

(41:36):
start resonating with ourcommunity, especially our loved
ones, and just telling my momwhat it meant and that spark in
her eye that again transcended alot of other accomplishments I
know for you, even with yourgraduate degree from Columbia
University, and then ultimatelyit's not our degrees that are on
our parents' refrigerator.

(41:58):
It's a copy of El Diario and Ijust thought your words, how
they resonated with me.
So much similarity again.
And I just thought your wordshow they resonated with me.
So much similarity again,because a lot of similarities in
our upbringing, our geography,but it was just good to see in
that room, trailblazers,community activists, business
leaders that I'm always groundedand humbled by and, frankly,

(42:21):
motivated and inspired to say,like, what do I now do?
Yes, as a milestone and beingrecognized for a moment in time.
But I also say recognition isfleeting.
What got me, what got us tothat L award isn't necessarily
going to be what gets us to thenext form of recognition.
And also it's not about therecognition.

(42:41):
I appreciate those thatrecognize, but it's a reflection
of, like, well, what work did Ido that got me recognized?
How do I continue to build onthat scale, that and then,
hopefully, similar to you, like,how do I get others recognized?
Because I'd love to be able tobe back in that L award for
motivating someone else thatthen got into action, for

(43:04):
motivating a group that got intoaction, and so that's probably
my pivot in my career is thescalability of leadership that
goes beyond what one person cando.
But I want an army.
I want an army out there thatare focused on economic mobility
, that are focused on drivingdiversity across our Fortune 500

(43:25):
, 1,000 executive committee andboard of directors that are out
doing great things in ourcommunity, this constant pursuit
of the American dream, buthopefully that evolves beyond
just the fiscal side of it butto just being good people.
You know, I think there's a lotin the American dream.

(43:46):
You know, I think especiallycontinues to be misconstrued
with just money.
But I'd say and look, money isimportant and there's plenty of
podcasts, I've been on that ifyou can't take care of yourself,
because of the economic andfinancial freedom that I've been
able to build through hard work, philanthropically, I'm able to

(44:07):
be generous, I'm able to put mydollars behind organizations
and committees.
So please don't take that.
You need money, you need money.
You need to be financiallyindependent to be able to be a
constant catalyst for change inthis world.
But that has to be grounded onjust being a good person, which

(44:30):
I think has to be quintessentialwith the American dream.
If not, it's a very selfish one.
And so hopefully again, thatcontinues to be, you know, just
blasted out for everyone to knowand understand and everyone's
own pursuit of their ownAmerican dream.

Speaker 3 (44:44):
Thank you, and thank you for sharing that Right.
I think part of the reason whyI like to share kind of how you
and I connected is because ofthat.
Right, like we, like you'rereally good at what you do and
you're being recognized for thething.
Right, like the L Awards of allthe Latino men in the country,
you're like we're talking about20, right, that's the first
thing.
Right, and you were part ofthat and also appreciate and

(45:06):
wholeheartedly like embrace thatnotion of great.
Now we need to make sure thatothers are also recognized and
are there, and I was fortunateto actually attend again this
year and support some of theother gentlemen that were being
awarded this year.
So you know I love that, andgentlemen that were that were
being awarded this year.
So you know I love that and Iand I just appreciate being in
community with folks, um, thatare just like just crushing it
in their own lane, yeah, so yeah, that part is great and every

(45:28):
time I hope it's.

Speaker 1 (45:29):
I'm always humbled by whether the awards that I
remember like and that's alwaysa, you know, maybe a cheat code
is to open your aperture onwhat's happening within your
community.
Because Because I think againwhen you and I were growing up,
maybe again based on, we justdidn't have the eyes on those
disrupting the businesscommunity, the political
community that look like us.

(45:49):
There's a lot more of thattoday If you open your aperture
for the mentorship or the intake, the books you read, the shows
you watch.
And I remember going back tosomething that really continued
to resonate with what I can dowas similar on the ward I had
won the Young Hispanic CorporateAchiever Award through ACER,

(46:17):
the Hispanic Association onCorporate Responsibility,
through Sid Wilson, which is atremendous trailblazer and
leader in our community.
Dominicano, from WashingtonHeights, lives in Jersey and
when I sat around that room forleaders all 40 and under, and it
was a four-day kind of culturalimmersion, cultural immersion
and seeing leaders across thetransportation industry,

(46:39):
medicine, technology all thatlooked came from similar
backgrounds.
That was probably the firstsmack in the face that told me
you're not doing enough and butin the right way, like it wasn't
in the wrong way, just not evendoing enough professionally,
doing enough in your community.
And you need these moments whereyou're reminded or grounded.

(47:00):
I was grounded in that momentAgain I was probably 31, 32,
where I thought again I waswalking on water doing things
that my parents couldn't havedreamed.
And then you just get groundedand said and I can accomplish
more for good reasons, not onlyfor myself and my family, but
for the community.
And so you have to seek thoseout, be in those rooms where

(47:23):
you're awestruck by someone thatlooks just like you, achieving
things that you never thoughtpossible.
I love being awestruck becauseit's such a motivator.
I want to be the first oneclapping, high-fiving but then
taking that back and saying whatdoes that mean?
Because your bar just got reset, you thought you were here, you

(47:43):
just got here, and again all inthe right sense, and saying now
let me work my way back up andlet me pull everyone up there
with me.
So just again, find that openaperture to be in awe by the
community, the community that weserve, the community that we
belong, and it's just anaccelerant in the mindset that
you hold.

Speaker 3 (48:03):
That's great.
You mentioned money isimportant.
I like to be a good catalyst,for you can do good and do well.
Can you share with folks, as anexecutive vice president at a
large bank, what is the range ofmoney you can make in those
types of roles?
Right, well?

Speaker 1 (48:23):
it ranges a lot, obviously, in the financial
services industry, I would saythe impact financially could for
sure be one to sustain a family, grow a family, be into a
philanthropic side In our world.
A lot of it isperformance-based and so, yes, a
base salary that you know.
I would say, again, blessed.

(48:43):
I would have never thought I'dbe sitting in the seat that I am
, even though, again, I workedhard as hell to get here.
But a lot of it isperformance-based and that's you
know.
If you're in one that wants tobe financially recognized for
your hard work, I'd say a worldof banking, of finance, of

(49:05):
investment banking is your worldand that means that, again, I
see it as a lot of control.
I control my destiny by myoutput, the hours I choose to
work, how hard I want to go hard, the impact I want to make.
Now, again, a lot of that todaygoes beyond just me as an
individual and really the teamthat I manage and what they are

(49:27):
able to do.
I'm only as good as the 15,000men and women that serve our
clients day in and day out, andthen the strategy and enablement
that I'm able to drive, but itis.
I mean, it is a financiallylucrative career at truly all
levels, based on experience,based on education, based on
performance.

(49:47):
But we're definitely a pay forperformance, not only
organization, but frankly, acareer, and that's probably said
across all other financialinstitutions.

Speaker 3 (50:00):
Yeah for sure.
So to make sure, because I knowI have some folks that are
going to hit me up after it'slike wait, well, can I make 70
grand to 200 grand, or is thismore like 150?
You know what I mean.
I just think I recognize thevalue in people just
understanding some level of likeand again, we're talking about
22 years into your career, right, we're talking about someone

(50:23):
that has, like started out as ateller and has risen through the
ranks and now, when you're ableto like oversee branches
throughout a country, kind ofgenerally, kind of, where does
that set you with your peersaround that area?
Yeah, and again, this could be arange and I know it'll vary.
Depends on where you live, whatbank you're at, all the things
a lot of variables.

Speaker 1 (50:44):
There's so much variables that that's what makes
it hard to kind of quantifyjust because of the amount of
jobs.
Again, especially if you're alarge financial institution that
has layers, obviously as yourresponsibility grows, your
compensation grows.
There's things in terms ofagain, you want to make sure at

(51:04):
any financial institution thatyou're being rewarded, not only
short-term but long-term, andyou see that show up again in
the industry in terms of equitythroughout the years, because
you want to have the fiduciaryresponsibility that I'm making a
decision today.
That is not only good for today, it's good for three years from
now, five years from now, andso rewards also vary as you get

(51:27):
into senior leadership to makesure that your eyes on the ball
for a legacy, not just a week, aquarter of results.
So there is so much.
I'd say.
If you look at most of ourbranches, you know it is and can
be a six-figure role to leadone of our branch networks.
You know one of our branches,so you go in and you know, say,

(51:51):
our branch in 11 Pet Ave, acrossfrom Madison Square Garden.
You know it's a very largefinancial institution.
Again, someone who's leadingthat location could do really
well.
Similar with 340 Madison, the200 branches we have in New
Jersey are again the 2,300branches.
So it is a wide range fromindividual contributors.
So, teller banker, as you startleading people, that starts

(52:14):
changing.
Also, incentive takes adifferent toll where individual
may be a little bit quickerversus as you lead bigger
audiences could be semi-annual,annual.
So a comp philosophy could beso complex and also evolve from
institution to institution.
So the way PNC pays versusChase or Bank of America or

(52:35):
Wells Fargo, again, we all wantto remain competitive and we are
, but even the timing can changeand evolve.
So it is a hard.
I wish I could come in and saya hard number what I can
absolutely do.
It's definitely a worthwhilecareer that we build, like I,

(52:55):
and maybe this will help.
I had a meeting with my directsand some of their directs and
there was maybe 20 people in theroom, probably a little bit
less, I'm thinking maybe it wasaround 18.
And that group almost had 400years of experience.
And so if you think about froman industry and maybe one of the

(53:17):
best ways I don't know anindustry that keeps people and I
think this is something alsospecial to PNC, where you're not
in your career for 20, 30, 35years, if, one, you haven't
loved it.
Two, you haven't been rewardedand recognized.
Three, you haven't seen yourown career mobility.
And four, you haven't made agood living throughout it.

(53:40):
And so you will see, as peoplestart performing well, we retain
them, they grow and they stayand I think that helps kind of
validate the right paymethodology we've taken
internally.
And again, that may vary acrossthe industry, but feel real
good about the way you know wework and compensate our people.

Speaker 3 (54:00):
Yeah, that's helpful and I think you know I'm
especially thinking for folksthat are like tellers now, right
, and I think you've given a lotof career cheat codes on like
what is important to then beable to grow into how you show
up personally as a leader andtaking on the things that maybe

(54:21):
are technically below your paygrade.
But the way that you show up isthe way that you inspire, is the
way that others see you, is theway that others recognize the
value that you're adding to thiscompany, and I just appreciate
being able to provide some folkswith a glimpse into what life
could look like 20 years downthe line if you stick with it.
Yeah, and if you're likeintentional about the work that

(54:43):
you're doing and, as youmentioned, not just within your
role, but like how you show upas an individual outside, how
you show up to board, how you do, how you show up at employee
resource groups, how you show upto make sure that your
community is thriving andevolving because you're part of
it, right.
So you know, just appreciatethat, because I just think it's.
I just think it's reallyimportant for people to see

(55:04):
themselves as a holistic person,owning their career and what
that means and how they show up,you know, as members of our
community.

Speaker 1 (55:11):
So thank you for that , and that's a great call.
Like you know, you want to beable to be in a company and in a
career that you can grow.
It's not where you start, asyou alluded to it's the
aspiration that you have, andthat's probably the biggest
thing.
I joined PNC because it matchedmy aspiration.
It wanted to grow as I wantedto grow, and so there's so much

(55:33):
beyond just the dollars, because, trust me, I've seen dollars
cause people to make the wrongcareer decision, but to see and
be able to say I can join thisfinancial institution as a
teller and grow to be a manager,regional manager, like that's.
The organization I work at isone that again wants people that

(55:54):
have big aspirations but thenis matched by the actions that
they take.
The advice I give, often likeyour day should mimic the job
that you want, not the job thatyou have.
And so often I'll ask thequestion in any interview and I
either get an answer that is ahypothetical or is one ingrained

(56:15):
in actual action.
And so what I often get andthese are the people that don't
get the job is, when I get thejob, here's what I will do,
versus I've always wanted thisjob and so here's what I've been
doing.
That latter they're ready tojump in the job.

Speaker 4 (56:32):
They have found a way , not because their job today
said they had to do it butbecause they said I know I want
to be a manager, so let me startcoaching my peers, let me start
giving advice.
Hey, I'm successful.
Let me share that success withothers and see if I can scale my
success in them.
Now I'm like hey, I'm in theinterview saying, hey, rad,

(56:53):
here's what like why do youthink I'm a good manager?

Speaker 1 (56:55):
Let me show you these two bankers.
They were not performing.
I spent some time gave them mytips.

Speaker 4 (57:00):
I gave them my career .
Cheat codes Now look at theirperformance.

Speaker 1 (57:03):
Now, You've already done the job, and so like yes,
it's important to be part of anambitious organization be able
to see and ask hey, tell me thelast time a banker became a
regional manager.
Tell me the last time a managerbecame a market, like when a
company has those storiesthey've created the rails for

(57:25):
career progression.
Run towards that, don't alwaysrun to.
Oh, that's $5,000 more Likethat may be good for today, and
I've seen people that havejumped for that money first and
are in the same position 20years later than they were when
we shared the same position, 20years later than they were when
we shared that same role 20years ago.
Just because the focus was thedollar, not the career, not the

(57:46):
impact, not the company.

Speaker 3 (57:48):
That's awesome.
Are there any forms of mediathat could be books, podcasts,
newsletters, things that you'veconsumed that have just helped
you along your path personallyor professionally?

Speaker 1 (58:00):
Yeah, a couple books, maybe some of the earlier ones.
Maybe you've heard it kind ofresonate throughout my
commentaries everything aroundemotional intelligence.
So, like Daniel, goleman wasprobably the first book I read
around working with emotionalintelligence.
That's really what started myinternal curiosity around the
way I lead, the words I say, andso that was probably for me a

(58:21):
bedrock that then built out intosome other key themes.
So I'd say anything around EQ,emotional intelligence,
especially if you are leadingpeople or want to lead.
I'm a fan of shorter articles soI'm a big fan of anything
that's a Harvard Business Review.
Usually about every coupleyears they'll come out with the

(58:44):
Harvard Business Reviewessentials.
It'll range between 10 to 20 ofthe year's most profound kind
of articles or reading.
So I love spending some time onsome Harvard business reviews,
some key books.
One from Bill Campbell calledthe Trillion Dollar Coach has

(59:07):
been a recent read that I love.
He was a Columbia Universityfootball coach for years, not
with the best record, but thenultimately became a coach to God
everyone in Silicon Valley fromBill Gates, god, I think, like
Jeff Bezos I mean just atremendous coach, and that's why
they call him because thosethat he coached equated to over

(59:29):
a trillion dollars in market cap, and then again I start my day
with CNBC just because I want tohear what's happening
thematically across the businessworld, not just in the
financial sector.
I'm always on Yahoo FinanceAgain, I'm probably reading
anything from the Wall StreetJournal, just again, constantly
trying to understand what'shappening broadly.

(59:51):
Podcasts been a couple, not aton, I'd say.
I like to experience things.
I'd probably say the thing thatdifferentiates me the most.
I love to travel, but nottravel to just always be in an
all inclusive.
I like to just I gauge a lot byglobal experiences.
I'm in the arts.
I like to just enjoyipsed 75countries, and so that's

(01:00:17):
probably my biggest learning.
I'm one country away fromknocking all of Central America
out, which is Honduras, andhopefully I'll be there soon.
I'm a big diver and so, yes, Ilove to read, I love to take
things in, but I apply them inmy everyday life and that causes
by seeing.
Again, I like to be humbled inmy travel and, with my kids,

(01:00:41):
just letting them understandthat what they experience every
day is not what the worldexperiences, and so, whether
it's in Africa or Asia, I'mprobably very experiential and
cool things.
I'm a big diver.
I loved when I got to climbMount Kilimanjaro, and so it's
just, you know, I want to seehow far I can push myself
mentally and physically.

(01:01:03):
And then that allows me to kindof circle back.
I think maybe one of myfavorite posts I ever did on
LinkedIn was my 10 takeawaysfrom my climb to Kilimanjaro and
like that, like that is often,I even reflect sometimes on my
own words and so, yeah, that'dbe my advice, like read it, see
it, uh, but then you got tofigure out a way to live it.

Speaker 3 (01:01:26):
I love that.
Is there anything else wehaven't discussed today that the
world should know about?
Jeff?

Speaker 1 (01:01:30):
God, I think we definitely covered a lot, so I
appreciate your questions.
No, I um, you know, maybefinally, just just again, I sit
in the seat that I'm veryhumbled to hold and proud to
hold and try to do good everyday for all those around and you
know, I know as you're doingand try to give a a speaker box
for for those that you'veencountered that have a story to

(01:01:53):
tell.
Again, I'm proud about what wecontinue to do at PNC as we
continue to grow.
What's allowed me to do, youknow, even love interacting with
our board of directors, who isprobably one of the most diverse
board of directors in theFortune 500.
Having and seeing a Latinoboard of director on our board

(01:02:13):
is inspiring, and so, like wewalk the walk, we talk the talk,
and I think that makes usspecial and I think that's why
we'll continue to win as anorganization and I hope to
continue to be part of thatwinning.
You know, dna.

Speaker 3 (01:02:27):
Absolutely.
And you know, I think that'sone of the things that
gravitated me towards you right,like we were again both award
recipients, so like everyone inthe room is like really
impressive, right Then.
But then it's the like, yourperspective, your humility to do
it all, and then I'm like wait,this guy has a lot of
responsibility, like this guyhas a like you like manage a lot
and are responsible for a lot,and like you're still very down

(01:02:50):
to earth, very much like justthat humble kind of perspective,
and I just like it just kind ofgravitated me towards you for
sure.
So I just appreciate youdefinitely taking the time to do
this, sharing a lot of thesegems that I hope folks can learn
from and take something awayfrom it.
So I appreciate that.

Speaker 1 (01:03:07):
I appreciate you, Appreciate your time, your
leadership and your impact myman.

Speaker 2 (01:03:10):
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
If you did and believe on themission we're on, please like,
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Cheat Code and tell us peopleor careers you would like to see
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See you next week with somemore cheat codes.
Peace.