Regional President of Pennsylvania & New Jersey, Truist Financial
Travis Rhodes
Travis Rhodes, Regional President of BB&T Bank stops by the Executive Leaders Radio studio at Morgan Lewis. In this interview ...
About Travis Rhodes
Travis Rhodes, Regional President of Pennsylvania & New Jersey at Truist Financial, has discussed the bank's role during the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that the bank was the fourth largest producer of Paycheck Protection Program loans in the nation, helping over 2,500 companies with more than $700 million in his region alone. Rhodes said the bank invested over $50 million in direct COVID relief, including employee bonuses and free childcare, and that in the Lehigh Valley it invested close to half a million dollars into food banks, literacy programs, and technology access. Rhodes has also spoken about the 2019 merger between BB&T and SunTrust that created Truist, describing it as complementary and increasing the bank's ability to serve clients in a strategic advisory capacity. He emphasized the bank's commitment to a local, community-based model with 24 separate regions, each with a regional president, to maintain a small, local feel while delivering the power of a large bank. Rhodes described the bank's philosophy as "T3," which he said marries personal touch with technology to build trust with clients.
Transcript (57 segments)
H
Host0:07
We're back, you're listening to Executive Leaders Radio. This year host Herb Cohen, and we'd like to introduce Travis Rhodes, who's regional president of BB&T Bank. Travis, what is BB&T Bank?
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Travis Rhodes0:21
BB&T Bank is soon to be the sixth largest bank in the nation, about four hundred and fifty billion dollars in assets, serving the south and the mid-Atlantic regions.
H
Host0:29
Well, how many employees?
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Travis Rhodes0:31
So directly in my chain, about a hundred and seventy roughly. And how many in the total organization? About 35,000 currently, going to sixty-five.
H
Host0:39
Wow. Okay, were you from originally?
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Travis Rhodes0:42
Greensboro, North Carolina.
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Host0:44
How many brothers and sisters?
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Travis Rhodes0:45
I'm an only child.
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Host0:49
An only child. So what was the effect of growing up as an only child?
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Travis Rhodes0:49
I had two parents that loved me and were able to just bestow that love on one person, and that would be me.
H
Host0:57
Wow. All right, Peter Joe said both your parents work, they do? Tell us a little bit about the shifts that they took and what that was like growing up in that household.
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Travis Rhodes1:06
Yeah, so my dad, he loaded trucks for a living. He worked numerous shifts, third shift, finished off his career after being laid off working third shift. And I had a mother that worked in a distribution center working first shift. But both working very hard.
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Host1:22
She had hard working parents. Yes. How did that show up as an adolescent? Did you have a first job and how young were you?
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Travis Rhodes1:28
Yeah, first job was, I think my first job was mowing grass. And at the same time I was sanding baseboards for a painter, and I was 12 years old.
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Host1:36
So you were doing more than one job. Yeah. And with the kids around you, all your friends, are they all having multiple jobs at the same time?
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Travis Rhodes1:41
Unfortunately not. I was the guy that was learning the money.
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Host1:43
What do you think the differentiator was?
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Travis Rhodes1:46
The differentiator was, you know, seeing my parents, you know, coming from very poor backgrounds. Both of them grew up very poor, and what they had accomplished and provided for me is I never wanted to ask them for anything. I want to provide it for myself.
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Host1:59
Denise. So Travis, what was the effect for you of growing up in Greensboro?
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Travis Rhodes2:03
Yeah, so Greensboro, you know, again, my parents really worked incredibly hard and provided a great life and even an education for me. And we moved a little bit out of the city into more of the country. It was, parts of it were semi-affluent. I went to a semi-affluent high school. So as you look at, you know, just the differential between, you know, how my parents grew up, how where I was versus somebody that might be in a country club, that really drove me to desire to be better, to better myself.
H
Host2:39
Didn't you tell us in the green room you felt like you had an inferiority complex?
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Travis Rhodes2:44
Yeah, I did. It was, you know, again, you know, not having the background some of the other kids did really impacted the way I saw myself and impacted where I thought that I could be in the future.
H
Host2:57
And now you think that shows up in your work today?
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Travis Rhodes3:01
Well, I think, I call it to my staff, they call it my inner crazy. So, you know, I've got this drive to be successful and to ultimately improve my team and prove myself. And so I would call it inner crazy.
H
Host3:17
What sports did you play in grade school and high school?
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Travis Rhodes3:21
I played basketball and football.
H
Host3:26
How did they influence you?
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Travis Rhodes3:26
So I was a 6'3" center. So when you're looking at being a 6'3" center, you know, and playing on a very competitive team, you've got to figure out what it's going to take to be successful. And when you're going up against 6'7" guys, 6'8" guys, you got to learn how to be creative and use your strengths. So again, that's also played into some of the things that I do now, how to adapt to be successful.
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Host3:55
And how does that influence you today?
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Travis Rhodes3:58
Yeah, you know, creativity is a wonderful thing. And when you're faced with some challenges that seem like they're overwhelming, again, you know, being 6'3" and you're going up against a guy that's 6'9" and you're having to play the blocks and he's outweighing you by 75 pounds, you got to be creative, you got to figure out how to ultimately be successful in that role. And today, you know, again, starting off as a branch manager, you know, some of the entry-level positions with the bank and working my way to where I am, at each step of the way you had to figure out how to accomplish that role in an effective way. And a lot of that's creativity and really finding out what your strengths are.
H
Host4:34
Travis, can you tell us a little bit about your mom and what she's like?
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Travis Rhodes4:39
Yeah, my mom is one of the most loving people that you have ever met in your life. And she, I mean, I'm the apple of her eye, she adores me. But as part of that, she also wants what's best for me, so she really drives me and she has driven me in the past.
H
Host4:52
And a part of that, so what do you mean?
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Travis Rhodes4:53
Yeah, so showing what is it that you can improve, you know, really talking a lot of times what is it that you can do better, or this was something that wasn't quite right, you can improve in this direction.
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Host5:05
And what do you take from mom with you to work every day?
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Travis Rhodes5:07
Yeah, to continuously see the areas where I can be better.
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Host5:13
Give us an example of how your mom helped you see what you could have improved when you were a kid.
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Travis Rhodes5:18
So, last of all, you know, looking at a basketball game, if I did not give it 100%, she said and told me I didn't give it 100%.
H
Host5:29
Oh, I see. You had a mother like mine. Okay, Travis, tell me a little bit about your dad.
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Travis Rhodes5:36
I'm a dad. I might tear up a little bit talking about my dad. He is a very special man. He has the highest degree of integrity. He's a man of faith. A man that his yes means yes and his no means no. And you can count on it. My father never, in my entire life, has lied to me.
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Host5:59
Boy, I read the newspapers, I read about bankers. And if you're telling me your dad's your hero and he's never lied to me, I mean, I'm looking at you, it's like, you know, you're really this? I get it in your body language, dad man. I don't hear that about bankers though. You're telling me that you really bring the truth and honesty and integrity to your role at BB&T Bank?
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Travis Rhodes6:22
That's one of the reasons I've worked for BB&T for 20 years. It's called foundationally honesty and integrity is the foundation of the bank and what it stands upon. And that's the reason that I work there. And ultimately that came from my father. And I can proudly say that I've never lied to my kids. Foundationally, you know, honesty is the very foundation of relationships. If you cannot have honesty and integrity, you will not have relationships or meaningful relationships. So this is the core of who I am and what my father has given me.
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Host6:55
Your parents instilled some important lessons in you and obviously impacted your life. How do you intend to, or how do you see your role in impacting and instilling?
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Travis Rhodes7:05
There are three things I talk about to my employees all the time, and it's a triangle: heart, hustle, and competence. At the very foundation is heart, the value system. Have a very defined value system of which honesty and integrity is at the foundation. Do the right thing for the right reasons all the time. Hustle: you outwork everybody. You have a blue-collar work ethic. You outwork somebody, you outwork the competition. And then competence is ultimately, are you good at what you do and continuously improve yourself to be more competent as a banker, as an individual, as a father, as a friend? We all can improve in all of those different areas. So all three of those got to work in concert: heart, hustle, and competence.
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Host7:49
Caleb. Travis, where does this motivation come from?
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Travis Rhodes7:53
Motivation comes from a desire to be the best at what I do in everything. And ultimately it resonates from the very foundation of how I grew up. When you grow up seeing a family where you've got a father and mother that sacrificed as much as my father and mother did, that worked, my dad was in the back of a trailer in 100 degree weather or negative 5 degree weather putting boxes on that truck. And you see how hard he worked for you. And on his shoulders, on which I stand, I've got to honor that and make sure that I can do the very best that I can. So the sacrifices he made ultimately pay off.
H
Host8:40
Now Travis, you talk about being a servant leader in our conversations. Where do you think that came from?
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Travis Rhodes8:47
Yeah, servant leader again came from some jobs that I had, you know, bussing tables, waiting tables. Understanding that at the foundation, as clients, we serve. We serve our clients in a way that ultimately helps them improve their life. And as a banker, that's one of the things that I love: I get to help people make payrolls, I get to help people get into their first mortgages, to put their kids through college. I look at business owners as Titans because they started businesses and ultimately they're driving this economy, they're serving their employees. I serve them.
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Host9:23
Travis, earlier you mentioned your kids. How many kids do you have?
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Travis Rhodes9:27
I have four. Four, yeah. Because I was an only child and I wanted a full household, and I want a lot of grandchildren.
H
Host9:34
Tell us why. What's driving that? Talk more about that.
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Travis Rhodes9:36
I love family. Family is one of the foundational institutions of humankind.
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Host9:45
How does your love for family fit into this role as a banker?
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Travis Rhodes9:50
Again, I see the people that I work with as an extension of that. We call ourselves a family at BB&T, and I want to build that. And so when you're thinking about even as an employee, we are looking to help them live into their giftedness. There are strengths and weaknesses, and we talked about that even in interviews. I ask somebody what their weaknesses are.
H
Host10:10
Give me the website address for BB&T Bank.
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Travis Rhodes10:12
BBT.com.
H
Host10:14
We even speak with Travis Rhodes, regional president of BB&T Bank, back in a little bit right after this break.