From the start Campbell made Freedom work

IN THE PROGRAM: With a background in programming,  Freedom National Bank CFO Trad Campbell says that part of banking's appeal for him is developing processes and efficiencies. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL S. GORDON
IN THE PROGRAM: With a background in programming, Freedom National Bank CFO Trad Campbell says that part of banking's appeal for him is developing processes and efficiencies. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL S. GORDON

Trad Campbell, chief financial officer of Freedom National Bank in Smithfield and senior vice president and treasurer of Berkshire Financial Services and Lee Bank in Lee, Mass. – didn’t start out in the financial industry. But his position as a computer programmer inadvertently led him to the world of banking, and he’s glad it did.

For Campbell, part of banking’s appeal is developing processes and efficiencies. “I guess it goes back to my programming days,” he said. “I like building new tools, I like analytics – things normal people would run away from.”

After graduating from Utica College of Syracuse University in New York with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Campbell joined the now-defunct Geary Corp. in Pittsfield, Mass. Hired originally as a programmer for the IT consulting firm, the company ended up assigning him to a project, “to help them straighten out finances,” Campbell said. After that, he became Geary’s controller for nearly nine years.

“I went out and pursued professional certifications,” Campbell said. “[Geary’s] founder sowed a lot of confidence in me and motivated me to go down this path.”

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The path led to a position as a controller for Freedom Bank’s parent company – Berkshire Financial Services – in 1994, then to a promotion to vice president of finance. Campbell has served as CFO of Freedom Bank since 2009.

Campbell’s situation is unique as compared with most CFOs, in that he got to play an integral role in Freedom Bank’s core beginnings. “We formed Freedom, I assisted in picking the location,” he said. It was an opportunity to see a bank come to fruition from the ground up, literally.

The bank now has 19 employees, more than $107 million in assets and a 2014 annual gross revenue of $4.4 million. Freedom has been recognized as a U.S. Small Business Administration Preferred Lender, in the top five banks in Rhode Island for SBA lending for three years now. Its locations in Greenville, Cumberland and East Providence serve more than 3,000 residential customers and more than 450 commercial clients.

Freedom Bank President and CEO Anthony A. Botelho points out that, while essentially functioning as CFO for three financial institutions, Campbell excels at timely and accurate reporting; effective staff oversight; and strategic investment portfolio management. Botelho also said Campbell is “strategic minded, with a strong ability to understand all aspects of the bank’s goals and initiatives within the Strategic Plan.”

That strategy includes keeping an eye on the competition.

Freedom National Bank is a small bank, or – as its website states – “the biggest little bank in the biggest little state.” And little banks often follow the lead of larger banks, such as with mobile banking, said Campbell. “Looking at the rest of the industry, you have to be competitive,” he said, especially where smaller banks don’t have as many locations, and need those tech tools for customer access. The bank is still looking to grow – expanding its online product suite – while maintaining existing customer relationships, he said.

The issue of technological access to banks is also generational, said Campbell, who has four grown daughters. “I don’t think they’ve ever been to a bank,” he says of his oldest two. “We have to give customers convenience. Even small banks, due to limited locations, really rely on that kind of technology.”

Straddling the line of providing things such as mobile deposits with good old-fashioned customer service and involvement is paramount to a smaller bank, Campbell said, adding that its smaller size can be a strong positive if handled correctly. “Lending is our small-business niche,” he said. “Larger banks may not be that interested or able to help when [customers] want to improve their business.”

To this end, says Campbell, community involvement, “being a good corporate citizen,” is crucial. Botelho said Freedom Bank, led by Campbell, is supportive of Rhode Island charities, such as one of its key causes: San Miguel School in Providence, a nonsectarian school for boys in grades 5 through 8, overseen by the De La Salle Christian Brothers of Eastern North America.

Creating value and profitability for the institution is another area where Campbell excels.

“From the Freedom National Bank’s perspective, many of our successes are directly attributed to Trad’s vision, diligence and ability to assist us in driving forward,” said Botelho, in managing the bank’s investment portfolio to maximize returns and innovating new ways to raise funds and capital to fuel growth. •

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