Jan. 2, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Central Bank.

A bit of post-graduation-life wisdom from his grandfather still helps guide Hank McCall today.

“He told me that when opportunity knocks, the least you should do is open the door and hear what they have to say,” said McCall, who recently became the market president at Central Bank in Sioux Falls.

“I’ve made it a point to do just that. There have been leaps of faith along the way where I bet on myself, believing I have what it takes to be successful regardless of the challenge in front of me, which I attribute greatly to growing up in a small-town business environment.”

McCall understands the life of a small-business owner. It’s in his DNA. Raised in Algona, Iowa – population 6,000 – he came from a family of entrepreneurs. An auto body shop is still in the family, and “growing up, I was able to witness firsthand the type of dedication it takes to be successful in business,” he said.

“I knew I wanted to play a role in the business community one way or another.”

For him, it was law that originally attracted him in the classroom out of high school. On the football field, it was Coach John Stiegelmeier who convinced the future team captain to put on an SDSU Jackrabbit uniform.

“It was clear from my recruiting visit that he had a vision for the program and knew the type of guys he was looking for to help him bring that vision to life,” said McCall, who went on to be honored with the Jim Langer Award as MVP his senior year.

His time on the field also exposed him to navigating major changes. In his junior year, the team became a Division I program.

“The decision to make that move was a very controversial one at the time. Most outside of the athletic department thought we couldn’t do it successfully. We accepted that challenge head-on, and the rest is history.”

After college as he considered his options, opportunity knocked in the form of an internship in the insurance industry, where he learned sales skills, followed by business-related roles in large health care organizations.

In between, SDSU called about an opportunity with the SDSU Foundation, which at the time was trying to raise $200 million in a capital campaign.

“It was a significant challenge for me early in my career to develop a professional network in a town where I knew so few, and the SDSU Foundation through its alumni channels provided a unique opportunity to accelerate that,” McCall said.

His career led into financial services when his future manager at Wells Fargo reached out to discuss interest in a career change.

“He said if I was interested, I had the skills to transition into business banking, and he invited me to have the conversation,” McCall said. “I thought about what my grandfather had said and decided to see where it could lead.”

He then spent eight years at Wells Fargo as a senior business banker and then a promotion to commercial relationship manager within its middle market banking group before becoming market president at a small community bank in Sioux Falls in 2021.

“I think my career is testament to the business environment here in Sioux Falls,” McCall said. “There’s tremendous opportunity in a city like this that has prioritized the business community and is always finding new ways to progress consistent with its values. I believe in this community, and I’m always looking for ways for my team to make a difference within Sioux Falls.”

That forward-looking, team-focused approach is one of McCall’s strengths as a leader, said Nick Brown, regional president at Central Bank.

“From the moment I met Hank, I knew he was someone we would want in a leadership position at Central Bank,” Brown said.

“Our initial conversation left no doubt about his potential as a leader. Hank’s innate ability to inspire others to be their best selves is truly remarkable. Such a natural gift for leadership is rare, and Hank’s is immediately noticeable. We’re incredibly excited about our future in Sioux Falls with Hank at the helm. With his leadership in this vibrant market, we believe the possibilities for Central Bank are limitless.”

McCall said his experience at organizations of all sizes positions him well “to have in-depth conversations with customers about some of their biggest challenges and then find ways to present solutions to help them achieve their goals.”

He also shares the vision of Central Bank owners Tim and John Brown “for what they hope we’ll achieve here in Sioux Falls,” he said.

“They have a tremendous amount of belief in this community. Their own entrepreneurial story is inspiring to me, how they’ve taken a bank with $30 million in assets and grown it to a financial institution with more than $2 billion in assets – it’s incredible. We have big plans for Central Bank in Sioux Falls, and it’s an exciting time to be a member of this team.”

As a leader, McCall describes himself as someone who works hard to get to know each member of his team – their unique values and motivations.

“I want to understand their ‘why.’ From there, it’s a matter of ensuring they have the tools and resources they need to help our customers, empowering them to consistently engage in the activities necessary to be successful, and then getting out of their way,” he said.

“All while remaining focused on a core principle of our business: When our customers succeed, we succeed.”

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