Business Up Front
By Jim Frankowiak
For Platinum Bank Area President David Sullivan, the bank’s keys to success come from some straightforward concepts that have grown the bank from a single location in 1997 to seven today and $500 million in assets, offering a range of personal and business banking products and services. The bank’s Plant City branch has been open for a decade and has followed the model that has worked for Platinum Bank since its inception in Brandon 17 years ago. “At that time, a group of Brandon civic and business leaders came together to organize a financial institution to serve the needs of the local community and to fill a void that had been left when a local financial institution had been sold,” said Sullivan. “Among them were a number of past chamber presidents and the owners of several well established businesses who all believed there was a need for a bank with a local focus and local ownership.” Today, Platinum Bank, which is headquartered in Brandon, also has branches in Tampa, Winter Haven, Plant City and in Lakeland, plus its newest branch in Dunedin in Pinellas County. Sullivan notes that each branch includes bank shareholders from the local community. “In line with our emphasis on local ownership, is our commitment to creating a team of local executives and staff members,” he said. “We also encourage our local shareholders to become active members of each of our branches’ advisory boards.” Beyond that emphasis of local ownership, Platinum Bank strives to become part of the team that each of its customers needs for long term success and viability. “I liken it to a three-legged stool with those legs labeled A, B and C,” said Sullivan. “There is always a need for legal counsel and that’s the Leg A. The same is true of a Certified Public Account and that’s the C leg. We hope to become the Banking
or the B leg for our customers and work with them to do what is right for their particular endeavor, rather than trying to sell them the particular banking product being emphasized at a certain time. And, we want to be on their team as valued advisors not just today, but well into the future. “The late Bob Tanner opened the Plant City Office and did a wonderful job as he set the stage and laid the foundation for our Plant City presence,” said Sullivan. Platinum Bank in Plant City now has a staff of nine, including four active lenders: Sullivan, Matt Buzza, Susan Baggett and Tommy Pollock. That brings up another example of how the bank differs from most other financial institutions. “We make our banking decisions for our Plant City customers right here in Plant City,” said Sullivan. “There is no need to wait on decisions to be made in another state. Those important decisions are made at each of our branch levels. Another way to put it is that Platinum Bank pushes the highest possible authority down to the lowest possible level.” Sullivan, who is a Plant City native, is married to the former Susan Redman who is the principal of Tomlin Middle School and they have three sons, Aaron, 26, is with U.S. Trust Bank in Fort Worth, Texas; Bradley, 23, co-owns and manages the UPS store in Plant City and Christopher, recently graduated from Samford University, is joining Synovus Bank in Atlanta, GA. In addition to his local position as Market President, Sullivan is Senior Executive Vice President of Platinum Bank. He is involved with the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, a director of the Florida Strawberry Festival, Hillsborough Community College Foundation board member, Vice President of the South Florida Baptist Hospital Foundation and a South Florida Baptist Hospital Trustee board member.
For more information, visit: www.platinumbank.com or the Plant City branch at 1804 James L. Redman Parkway. WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
July 2014
15