Meet the Boss: Kim Kaselionis, CEO of Circle Bank
- December 5, 2010
As a girl, Kim Kaselionis daydreamed about becoming a flight attendant and having 10 children.
That's a far cry from where she sits now, in the CEO's seat at Circle Bank, but the self-described lover of accounting says this job is a natural fit.
"You've just got to be open sometimes to the opportunities life puts in your path," she said in an interview last week at the Novato branch, where the employees offer freshly baked cookies to customers.
That's not to say Kaselionis' success as a businesswoman has fallen into her lap.
Following the breakup of her first marriage, Kaselionis - armed with an accounting degree from Cal State East Bay (Hayward) - enrolled at the University of Phoenix.
"It was the only place where I could drag my kids at night and continue on with my education," she said. "So at age 40, I got my MBA. It's never too late to go back to school."
Just as valuable to her are the life lessons she learned growing up the oldest of 10 children in a blended family.
"You learn a lot about sharing, about teamwork, about responsibility, accountability - and survival," said Kaselionis, who was born in Orange County but moved with her family to Marin when she was about 11 and her mother remarried. "Being the firstborn in a household of multiple children, the parents lean on the older children. You're the babysitter, you're the meal provider, you're the teacher."
Then there's the influence of her mother, Kit Cole, who was one of the first female stockbrokers in California and now heads Circle Bancorp, the parent of Circle Bank.
In the 1980s, Cole collected about $2 million from women by holding tea parties in order to form New Horizons Savings, the predecessor to Tamalpais Bank.
"I owe a lot of my entrepreneurial spirit and behaviors to being her oldest child," Kaselionis said.
In fact, it was because of Cole's fundraising on behalf of other investors to build New West Savings and Loan - which eventually would become Circle Bank - that Kaselionis became involved in the institution. At the time, SEC rules prohibited Cole from serving on the boards of competing banks, so Kaselionis stepped in.
Today, one of her brothers also works at the bank, in the loan department.
The family is still close. Six of the siblings - including the ones who live in Alaska and Australia - returned to Marin recently to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Kaselionis had much to be thankful for. In September, Circle Bank, with assets of about $300 million, posted its 45th consecutive profitable quarter. And October marked her fifth healthy year since being treated for cancer.
She's also in the fourth year of her marriage to Tomas Kaselionis, a Federal Emergency Management Agency worker and National Guard reservist whom she met when he coached her son's football team.
"We're a big football family," said Kaselionis, whose favorite pastime is photographing her sons' football games, which she started six years ago.
"It's a wonderful way for me to really engage in their lives. Not only do I get to be on the field and be part of all the action, but when I'm done we can sit down and go through all the photos."
She also can use them to give back to the school by posting them on Varsity Pix, which donates money to Marin Catholic High School whenever Kaselionis' pictures are bought from the site.
Giving back to the community is a core value not only in her personal life, but for the bank as well.
"I think that we have a responsibility to support the fabric of our communities in which we serve," she said.
Whether it's janitorial service or the coffee they brew, the bank looks to its customers first before hiring outside.
The cookies it offers are baked from dough the bank buys from Homeward Bound, a local organization that provides shelter and training for homeless people.
"One of the reasons many community banks are still around is because they are very entrenched in their communities, they understand their borrowers," Kaselionis said.
All five branches, which together employ about 70 people, are equipped with dog bowls and biscuits, and the newest location in Noe Valley offers stroller parking.
Circle Bank plans to expand its reach in the nine-county Bay Area and recently filed plans for an initial public offering in which Kaselionis hopes to raise $20 million to $30 million.
"More people are really wanting to get back to basics and develop a relationship with their financial partner," she said.
Kim Kaselionis
Work: CEO, Circle Bank.
Age: 49
Family: Husband Tomas; sons Tino, 19, and Dominic, 18 (on Monday); daughter, Tiana, 16
Residence: Novato
Hobbies: Photographing sons' football games, the beach, skiing, dinner-and-a-movie family night
Can't live without: Family, sugar
You might not know: She grew up the oldest of 10 children.
Quote: "You can do anything. And if you don't think you can do it, fake it - you'll get there."
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