Benito Almanza: Leveraging Life Lessons to become BofA State President

Benito Almanza’s office may be far from the farm fields he grew up on, but the lessons he learned as a child of farm laborers and the obstacles he overcame help guide him every day as the Arizona State President for Bank of America, in which position he coordinates all lines of business for the bank, including directing the work of 12,000 employees in Arizona. He also oversees operations in New Mexico, Colorado and El Paso, Texas.

Obtaining an education did not come easy for Almanza — his diocese supported him and his brothers through Catholic school, and in high school, his mother had to fight for him to be assigned a college prep counselor. “I felt embarrassed that I wasn’t good enough for college. My parents told me that I was just as good as the others, but I would need to work extra hard to prove them wrong,” Almanza recalls. Education was critical to his success. He is a graduate of Stanford University, earned his law degree from the University of Santa Clara and is a member of the California State Bar Association and the U.S. District Court Northern District Association. But Almanza is quick to point out that “education itself is important; however, what you do with it is paramount.” Throughout his career, he has worked very hard to prove he could compete against the best. “I’ve seen individuals with great educations come to work with a sense of entitlement. This is not a good formula for success,” he says.

Almanza landed his first job with Bank of America 34 years ago as an Agricultural Commercial Client Manager at San Jose Main. It was a career direction he took reluctantly, based on advice from his college professor and mentor, Jerry Porras, co-author of the best-seller Built to Last. “He suggested something that I didn’t want to hear: leverage my experience in agriculture. One of the reasons for focusing on school was to get out of the fields,” he says.

Mentorship continued to play an important role in his career. Another mentor, Jim Miscoll, told him to have a continual 10-year career goal with short-term objectives to measure his progress and never take a job for money, but for skill development. “The thought was that at the end of 10 years, I’d have the skill set for a stretch-job I had targeted. So I took lateral and turnaround jobs to build my skills — a strategy that certainly has worked,” he says. Another important lesson was to surround himself with top talent and develop them to take his job. “Today, my mentors are my teammates whose perspectives are a source of knowledge for me,” he says.

While some business executives find success by taking big risks, Almanza’s approach to risk-taking is conservative. “Good bankers thoroughly understand risk by knowing their clients’ cash flows; especially how sales are made and recognized. They then are in a position to know the risks and look at ways to mitigate them. Bankers can’t be true risk takers, as the margin for error is small. You need to make 99 loans out of 100 right so that you’re able to cover the loss of that one loan,” he says.

The toughest time in his career came when he put his job before his family. He worked up to 13 hours a day, including weekends, and hardly saw his wife and family. He felt tremendous feelings of guilt and finally readjusted his 10-year plan to rebalance his priorities to put the appropriate focus on his family while continuing to build his skills. “Fortunately, not everyone at the bank shared that bank-first mindset and I was able to thrive at the bank with a better family-first focus. I’ve never looked back or regretted the decision,” he says.

The Balance Sheet

• Benito Almanza was honored with the Hall of Fame Award at Valle Del Sol’s 2012 Profiles of Success Hispanic Leadership Awards in September.
• As State President for Bank of America in Arizona, Almanza oversees business banking activities in the Desert Mountain States, which include New Mexico, Colorado and El Paso, Texas.
• Almanza is responsible for coordinating all lines of business efforts in Arizona, community and civic activities and volunteer efforts for 12,000 Arizona associates.
• Almanza started his career 34 years ago as an Agricultural Commercial Client Manager at San Jose Main and attributes his career success in part to the guidance he received from mentors.
• His diocese supported Almanza and his brothers through Catholic education. He is a graduate of Stanford University, earned his law degree from the University of Santa Clara and is a member of the California State Bar Association and the U.S. District Court Northern District Association.
• Almanza devotes time to chair the Charity and Development Appeal of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. His board service includes Phoenix Aviation, Teach for America and the Arizona Bankers Association. He is also a member of Greater Phoenix Leadership.