President & Chief Operating Officer, OLD NATIONAL BANCORP
Marty's Moment with Mark Sander
President Marty Wickenheiser, Rotary Club of Novato, interviews Rotarian Mark Sander.
About Mark Sander
Mark Sander, President and Chief Operating Officer at Old National Bancorp, was involved in the bank's 2021 announcement of a $6.5 billion all-stock acquisition of First Midwest Bancorp. The deal was described as creating the sixth-largest bank in the Midwest with $45 billion in assets. Sander stated that the merger would strengthen the bank's footprint, particularly by adding the Chicago market, and would allow the combined company to invest more in talent and technology. He noted that the Old National name would remain and that the combined bank would be headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. In a 2016 Rotary Club interview, Sander discussed his personal background, including being born in London and moving to the United States as a child. He spoke about his career path, which included work as an options trader in San Francisco and Chicago, and his eventual move into the mortgage industry. Sander also described his involvement with Rotary, saying he valued the fellowship and friendships he had made through the club, and noted that his grandfather had been a Rotarian in Seattle.
Transcript (21 segments)
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Host0:09
Thank you. Hi everyone, this is Mark Sander. He's been a member of our club for at least three or four years. I remember getting to know him a little better at a meeting at Fresno, like Larry Harrison's house. For being a brand new member, Mark had some strong opinions about the golf tournament or something we were thinking about putting on. He hasn't been shy. But because we tend to sit at the same table over and over, I want everybody to get to know some of you a little better, our younger newer members. So Mark, I'd like to ask you: what is it about Rotary that keeps you engaged, and what has Rotary done for you in your life so far?
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Mark Sander1:04
What keeps me engaged about Rotary is the fellowship of the membership. I very much enjoyed the projects we get involved in, but most particularly I enjoy the friendships I've made within the club. I've had great support from the club, certainly in times when both our girls have been born the past three years. I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old daughter, and with no family in the area, Rotary has become my family. It's been very nice to have that as a part of my life. It's been very important to me and Katie, and our happiness here in Novato.
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Host1:40
Yeah, I've been over to your home. You have, in addition to your wife and two daughters, who's that? Who's the heaviest person in your household?
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Mark Sander1:48
He's not quite the heaviest. Oh my God, I got him by a few pounds. But Otto is our oldest, he's five. He's a Saint Bernard. He currently weighs 185 pounds, a little overweight because he has Addison's disease.
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Host2:03
Oh, he does? Oh, that's interesting.
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Mark Sander2:06
Yeah. I think he tried to knock me over, that's my memory.
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Host2:09
That's quite possible. Yeah, does that mean he likes me?
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Mark Sander2:11
Yeah, yeah, loves. Okay, Otto actually loves everyone. Otto loves the vet, he loves everybody.
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Host2:18
Oh, okay. Well, that's good. If you're going to weigh 185 pounds, you should have a good attitude about everybody. What kind of work do you do?
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Mark Sander2:24
I am a loan officer with Bank Home Loans. My office is on Grant Avenue here in Novato, and we are a division of Bank of California. So I do home loans for anyone across the United States.
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Host2:34
You do? And you have some unique programs that some portfolio lenders can't offer?
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Mark Sander2:40
Absolutely. When I meet people like yourself, the one thing I speak of are loan products for self-employed borrowers. We can do loans for people off of 12 months of bank statements without tax returns, which is something other banks aren't doing. And I generate a lot of business.
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Host2:54
Where did you grow up?
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Mark Sander2:57
I was born in London. My family lived in Scotland and London in the 70s. I was born in 77 in London, then moved to Seattle when I was three, and then Santa Barbara in 1991 for high school, and then college at UCLA.
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Host3:14
Aha.
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Mark Sander3:16
Katie got pregnant. Well, that's a big draw. We moved to Novato pretty much. So we lived in the city in a small, relatively small 1200 square foot condo in the city, and we loved living there. But once we knew we were having children, my wife was already working in Mill Valley as a kindergarten teacher, and I was taking a job in the mortgage industry in San Rafael. We started looking in the southern Marin and realized we could get so much nicer home here in Novato with nice schools, and now I found out a nice Rotary Club as well. So we were ecstatic about our decision to be in Novato.
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Host3:47
Good. I've seen your home, it is beautiful. Thank you. What's the most difficult thing you ever did, Mark?
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Mark Sander3:53
I'd say the most difficult decision I've made, and no regrets about it even though in the end it didn't end up working out, was to move to Chicago from San Francisco. I moved here in 2001 and was an options trader on a small exchange in San Francisco. After 9/11, where I was on the floor when the planes hit, we were laid off shortly thereafter because our firm lost so much money. Completely on my own, while other traders in my group went different directions, I moved my wife and our dog at the time and our rabbit to Chicago. I had a job on the Chicago Board of Trade trading bond options in Chicago, which is a major trading floor. Unfortunately, I was laid off there as well and ended up back in California. But that move to Chicago, having always lived on the West Coast, knowing no one out there, and finding a job through a couple connections but really working my tail off to find a position out in Chicago, was a difficult decision and still the right decision even though it didn't work out long term.
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Host4:51
Yeah, very gutsy. Wow, I hand it to you. When did you first hear about Rotary?
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Mark Sander4:57
I've known about Rotary pretty much my whole life. My grandfather was a member of the Rotary Club in Seattle, which I understand is the third club in this country actually, along with Bill Gates's father who also was from Seattle. My granddad was an avid Rotarian wherever he traveled in the world. In fact, I'm sure he went to every continent by the time him and my grandmother were settling down, and he always made a point of going to Rotary clubs wherever he went around the world. I'm sure if he were here, he'd be very proud that I'm right there. Thank you very much. While my life is full of things right now and I can't do as much as I would like in Rotary, I look forward to being a more active member than I already am in the future with Rotary. I'm very thankful to be part of this club.
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Host5:42
Very good. Happy to have you. Yes, well Mark, you know that we are here for you. Thank you. And now no one has an excuse to say they don't know Mark Sander, and you may be next.