Clinton's new CIO merges passion for technology and finance

Mary T. Dean, chief information officer and senior vice president, Clinton Savings Bank.

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Mary T. Dean took over CIO and senior vice president of Clinton Savings Bank earlier this year, heading up the technological operations for the community bank with six branches, two in-school branches and assets totaling $507 million. She came up in the banking world – working at Commonwealth National, Key Bank and Fleet Financial Group – but did have a five-year stint at a software firm, Sunguard Securities Processing in Burlington, which gave her insights in how to marry technology and finance.

How does a Latin and Greek major from Harvard end up working in finance?

At the time, lots of companies were recruiting on campus, and Fleet had a training program. My intention was always to teach high school or college Latin, but I thought I would see if I could make it in the business world. Over 25 years later, I still haven’t taught a Latin class.

Why did you become Clinton Bank’s CIO?

It was a little bit of a dream job. The majority of my career has been in banking, but I took a five-year hiatus to work for a software company, which I loved. I was in the professional services group, and it was a software company that provided back-office processing for the securities industry. It was the same processor that we use for our banking industry. I left the profession for my family; I had my children while I was there, and that definitely was a 24-hour-a-day job that I loved. That isn’t to say I didn’t love banking.

I had the opportunity from old friends to join them at Commonwealth National. While I was there, the cash management officer announced her retirement. I asked my boss at the time if he would take a chance on me because of my experience with the software company, and he did. When I came to Clinton Savings, I again had the opportunity to do both the cash management side and the commercial lending side, and I always had a love of the technology.

What is next for the bank’s technology?

It was announced we were putting together a Millennial advisory board. So, we are going to looking for guidance from those up-and-coming individuals in that 18-35-year-old age range to see what direction they would like to see the bank go in.

What do you think they will want?

As much as we can do electronically via our smartphones will certainly be a requirement – for lack of a better word – that they will have of the bank. They will want convenience, ease of banking, safety, security and education – helping them with budgeting and helping them achieve their goals of home ownership and acquiring wealth.

What has the new role been like so far?

It certainly has been a bit of a transition, and I learn something new every day. I’m in the “I don’t know what I don’t know” phase. So every day I learn a little bit of what I don’t know, but I am able to wrap my arms around it and move forward. I am very fortunate in that the departments and operations and IT are headed up by very strong leaders, so I am surrounded by a great team.

What are the latest challenges in banking?

The technology environment has changed a great deal in the last five years ago. Not only from a new product development standpoint, but the dawn of mobile banking has led its usage to skyrocket. From the technological aspect of protecting the information, protecting electronic information, customers’ information – the need to do that has increased a great deal because that information can be at risk. Educating customers and educating employees on protecting that information has certainly become a much bigger part of the bank’s job over the last several years.

Outside the technology, what else presents obstacles to overcome?

The industry itself is always changing. The regulatory environment is certainly challenging. Some of the guidance out there is open to interpretation, and we do our best to get it right.

We are a very strong, solid community bank that are subject to the same regulations as the large banks. Maintaining a balance of customer service and growth and achieving those strategic goals while mitigating risk requires a delicate effort.

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