Susan Davis, Committee Member, Illinois Bankers Association

By ROBERTA CODEMO
    Susan Davis grew up on the family dairy farm in Oakdale. She credits her family with where she is today.
    “My parents were wonderful people,” she said. They placed a lot of emphasis on education, and they taught her to always do her best.
    She has always enjoyed analytics and computers and received an associate’s degree in computer science in 1982. After graduation, she went to work at First National Bank in Pinckneyville in the proof department, eventually transferring to data processing. After two years, she was promoted to supervisor.
    After the birth of her daughter, Bailey Thompson, in 1989, she left First National to resume working on the family farm providing bookkeeping and payroll duties in addition to dairy and ag-related responsibilities.
    In 1994, Murphy-Wall State Bank and Trust Bank in Pinckneyville was converting its data processing software and asked her to help. She has been with Murphy-Wall ever since and now serves as executive vice president and COO.
    She started taking online courses through Mid-Continent University in Murray, Ky., and in 2007 received her bachelor’s degree in business management.
    She is a member of the Illinois Bankers Association, and is active on the Human Resources committee. A large part of her banking responsibilities includes working with HR and she wanted to learn as much as she could from other members.
    “It’s an important organization,” she said of the banking industry’s voice in Washington, D.C.
    As a citizen member of the committee, she works to select topics for the annual national conference. She enjoys the repertoire she has built with members and knows that anytime she has an HR question she can ask the group and learn how members would handle the situation.
    “It’s like having an extra employee on staff,” she said.
    Her advice to women who want to enter the banking industry is to be prepared to work hard.
    “The field is wide open to women,” she said. “If you want a job, there’s one out there,” she said. “You need to be committed.”
    Banking is a difficult industry to navigate because of the regulations and women need to be prepared to do their best, she said.
    Community service is important to Murphy-Wall, and the bank participates in many community activities. She is active with the Rend Lake Community College Technical Committee along with several organizations in Pinckneyville, and encourages more banks to become involved with the IBA.
    She lives in Vergennes with her husband, Marty Davis. They have three children and four grandchildren.