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INVESTING IN THE REGION
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By Debra Solomon Baker
 KEVIN EICHNER
president and CEO,
Enterprise Financial
Did you know that Enterprise Bank & Trust is the largest publicly-held bank headquartered in St. Louis? If the answer is no, then you are certainly not alone. Kevin Eichner, president and CEO of Enterprise Financial Services, loves to surprise clients with this well-kept secret.
“A lot of people have thought about Enterprise as a small bank for small business,” Eichner says. “We are increasingly being recognized as a high-growth, high performing winner, and this is very gratifying to me. We are competing against the giants and doing it very successfully.”
Years ago, Eichner envisioned that he would become a college president. However, his years at Harvard Business School altered his perspective. After working for 15 years as a consultant, Eichner, often described as tough-minded but tender-hearted, decided it was time to stop helping others lead and, instead, to take the reins himself.
So, in the late 1980s, he co-founded Enterprise Bank (later to become Enterprise Financial), and has overseen its growth into a $2 billion banking and wealth management company. The company concentrates on one primary market: private businesses and their owners. Eichner believes clients could not find better service anywhere.
Eichner’s drive to performance improvement even extends into his family life, where he, his three sons, and his wife, Marilyn, hold family goal-setting sessions. He admits that finding a work-life balance can be difficult, but he believes strongly in the development of the whole person.
In addition to serving on a number of boards, including Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the United Way, Eichner plays golf, exercises daily, and works with a voice coach to improve his singing. He has even performed recitals to raise money for charity.
“I’m never really at my best, or terribly satisfied, when I’m out of balance,” he says. “It is, of course, easy to get out of balance…I’m good at flipping the switch…when I’m home, I’m
really home.”
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE INSIGHTS
If there were one thing that you would want to see change in your company in 2005, what would it be?
“We will not be changing very much in 2005, but instead plan on expanding the firm as we have over the last few years. We plan to grow our branch office network about 20 percent by adding 40 new offices nationwide. We will be adding employees to our St. Louis home office to support that branch growth.”
RODGER RINEY
founder, president and CEO,
Scottrade
“As a health care organization committed to the health and safety of everyone we serve, SSM Health Care became tobacco free both inside and outside at all our facilities on Nov. 18, 2004. It is my sincere hope that 2005 will be a healthier year for our patients and their loved ones, for our employees and physicians, and for the communities we serve.”
SR. MARY JEAN RYAN
president and CEO,
SSM Health Care
“In 2004, SAVVIS launched a new
set of services that provide all the
computing power, data storage, and
network connectivity needed to run a business...on-demand and with 50 percent cost savings. I hope in 2005 to see these services have a transformational impact on businesses, empowering them to grow and deliver greater value to their customers.”
ROB MCCORMICK
chairman and CEO,
SAVVIS |
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