Keeping Our Eyes Open to the Positives, with Bill McDermott, McDermott Financial Solutions
Bill McDermott: [00:00:00] I’m going to tell a little story on myself, John. As you know, I’m pretty transparent. I watch the TV news, I see the number of cases of COVID-19, I see the deaths, I see the spread to Italy, to Spain, now to the United States. And what I was seeing was all the things that were happening, but what I was blind to is the fact that despite the building number of cases, despite the deaths, there are things going on that I just wasn’t seeing.
Bill McDermott: [00:00:45] There are manufacturing concerns that have totally changed their operation for manufacturing cologne to sanitizer or excuse me, yeah, hand sanitizer. There are companies that have totally revamped their manufacturing process to make ventilators. I heard of a company yesterday that donated two million masks to FEMA to help with disasters and to have people so that they can be protected.
Bill McDermott: [00:01:18] And so, what I wasn’t seeing, what I was blind to is all of the great things that America is doing to come together during this crisis. And so, what I would encourage, I would just encourage everybody is I’ve encouraged myself, don’t be blind to the things that are going on in the United States, where we’re coming together, where we’re building community, where we’re striving to achieve the greater good. There are great things going on despite this coronavirus that are making America better and stronger. And we just need to have our eyes open to see those things.
Bill McDermott, Founder and CEO of McDermott Financial Solutions
Bill McDermott graduated from Wake Forest University and launched a career in banking that spanned 32 years. He first started out as the “repo man” as part of Wachovia Bank’s management training program before locating to Atlanta to work for Peachtree Bank, which later became SunTrust. There, he distinguished himself as a great producer of loans and deposits for the bank, climbing the ranks to ultimately become a Group Vice President in the Commercial Banking division. In 2001, Bill’s group won the SunTrust Cup for being the highest performing commercial banking group in the company.
Over the next 8 years, Bill worked in community banking, becoming a top producer for IronStone Bank and later helping to double Embassy National Bank’s initial capital in loan production within 15 months. However, in early 2009 as the Great Recession was rapidly altering the economy, Bill’s position as Chief Commercial Lender was eliminated.
As Bill searched for what was “next”, he realized that he had built a treasure trove of knowledge of banking and financial acumen and had a desire to share it. Bill combined his sales success from his banking/insurance experience with his deep financial/analytical skills and launched McDermott Financial Solutions in April 2009. His purpose quickly became “making business owners better financial managers”. Over the past 11 years he has served over 200 clients by delivering results-oriented insights, helping to take them from financial confusion to financial clarity.
Bill currently sits on the board of directors for Pinnacle Bank, as well as the board for the Peachtree Corners Business Association, where he serves as vice president. He also hosts a monthly podcast, ProfitSense, which features stories of successful business owners and the professionals that advise them. When Bill is not working, you can find him on the golf course, gardening, spending time with his family, and leading a small group at his local church.
Bill is the host of “ProfitSense with Bill McDermott.” To find the show archive, go to ProfitSenseRadio.com.
The “One Minute Interview” series is produced by John Ray and in the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link.
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
