For John Hintze, building a robust commercial banking career is a lot like training to run a half-marathon, or mountain biking alongside his son: It’s about consistently challenging himself to adapt to reach his goals so he can energize others to reach their own.
Hintze is the Wisconsin market president for Kansas City, Missouri-based UMB Bank, which has several offices across Wisconsin and the Midwest.
Over a nearly 30-year career, Hintze has worked for banks of all sizes — including Associated Bank, First National Bank-Fox Valley, U.S. Bank and Wisconsin Bank & Trust, which UMB took over after acquiring its parent company, Heartland Financial USA, for $2 billion last year.
Hintze cited a strategic mindset behind his professional achievements, emphasizing the importance of abandoning his comfort zone to evolve his skills.
He made a pivotal decision in 2017 to move his family from the Fox Valley to Madison and said that leap yielded personal and professional opportunities — including involvement with local nonprofits, expansion of UMB’s customer base and the professional growth of its employees, a chance to coach a mountain biking team and more.
How did you launch your career?
I started in commercial banking at age 18, right out of high school. As a freshman in college (at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay), I interned for a regional bank in (the Fox Valley region of) Wisconsin.
I had the opportunity, through four years of college, to parallel my education with a career in commercial banking, and I took it very seriously. I spent every college break, summer, winter, spring break working at the bank, taking in all the perspectives from all the bankers I got to work with … and just trying to evolve.
(That bank) signed me on in October of the year before I graduated in May of 2003. … While I was wrapping up the rest of my college credits, I was taking higher level accounting and finance classes to build around the banking career that I was focused on.
In an upper level accounting class my senior year, I was the only kid in the class that was (an economics major) not an accounting major. (My professor) would pick on me constantly. He’s like, “Why are you in this class again?” I’m like, “I want to be good at all the parts. I want to be good at my job, so I’m taking classes that are relevant.” He’s like, “You’re crazy!”
But I was top of that class despite not being an accounting major. I kind of hit the ground running.
What drew you to Madison and, ultimately, to UMB?
In 2007, I went to lead a commercial banking team at a small community bank. That’s how I really learned how to run a bank — going through the recession.
We took it from an underperforming bank to the top performing bank in our peer group over the next decade. … In 2017, we sold the bank strategically to another bank out of Green Bay.
That’s when I had an opportunity: Do I want to stay on this course and continue with that community bank, or do I want to do something different? I felt like it was the right time in my career to challenge myself in a different way.
I had offers all over the Midwest … but I selected coming to Madison for all the reasons we love Madison. I went to work for a large national financial institution at that time because I hadn’t had any experience in that. I really got out of my comfort zone.
In my first full year at that bank, I won the national award as a top performer within that institution. I won two out of the three full years I was there. I wasn’t expecting such immediate success, but that also gave me the confidence to continue to evolve my career.
I came to work for Wisconsin Bank and Trust about five years ago to be their head of commercial banking. … (With) the merger between Wisconsin Bank and Trust and UMB, I felt like it was the ideal situation for me to be the Wisconsin market president. I have a lot of experience transitioning strategy, pivoting to where we need to go.
What do you consider your biggest career hurdles and wins?
When I moved from the Fox Valley, I had a very large book of business. I was on top of the world. I had the best clients. … I started completely over in Madison. (I had to) transition both my family and my professional career to an entirely different city, a new network, a national financial institution. I went from an employer of 80 to one of 75,000 people over the weekend.
I had to get acclimated very quickly. I jumped onto several nonprofit boards right away. … I felt like I belonged here. People knew who I was, and I was able to … connect people, connect opportunities and add value to people’s lives.
I feel like I’ve positioned myself that no matter the situation, no matter the size of the bank, or whatever the direction of the organization, as a leader, I can take them there, because I’ve done it time and time again.
What are you focused on now at UMB?
We’ve got 13 offices in Wisconsin. We have 350 employees throughout our footprint.
Prior to the merger (with Wisconsin Bank and Trust), we didn’t have … a traditional bank presence in Wisconsin. Blending these two together has been a very unique opportunity. … I’m really excited to focus on growing the brand, growing our customer base, helping lead and continuing to build our team.
I’ve been very successful in my career, being a commercial banker and doing it all on my own. … I love being able to pay that forward now. I like to be able to help my team grow and evolve their careers.
What are you most passionate about outside of the office?
I’m a high energy, wired guy. I’m like a dog — if you leave me in the house too long, I’m going to start knocking stuff over! I started running when I was about 30 years old, and so for the past 15 years, I’ve been just learning how to run, and run faster and run smarter.
From ages 40 to 45, I’ve had a new personal best half-marathon race every single year, and I’m usually in the top two or three (runners) in my age group. … I ran one marathon. It was last year in New York for my 45th birthday, and I qualified (for the Boston Marathon) off of the largest marathon in the world.
I challenge myself physically the same way I challenge myself professionally. It’s about consistency. It’s about continued refinement … of my strategy, my process, where I’m going, and you just get better and better.
Mountain biking was a kind of side hobby with my son as he’s grown up. He has gotten into racing mountain bikes through NICA, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.
The first year he rode with it, I was so just moved by the whole culture. There’s 1,200 kids in the state of Wisconsin at that race, in this circuit, and when they all come together for the state meet, there’s 500 cowbells going, and there’s parents yelling and everyone’s out there having a good time. Some of the riders are competing. Some of them are there just for fun and physical fitness.
I coach one of the Madison teams with my son, and it’s one of the few sports (where) I can be alongside my son as the coach. When he’s riding, I’m riding. If he wants to ride fast, if I need to challenge him, I’ve got to be able to ride fast enough to push him. And as he gets older, that’s getting a little harder every single year. This is the year he’s going to pass me — I’m sure of it — but I’ve just really enjoyed the camaraderie of the biking community.
