We recently sat down with Ram Shankar, executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of UMB Financial Corporation, to discuss his career history after being awarded the CFO of the Year award by the Kansas City Business Journal. Read more below.

As CFO of UMB, what has the past few years looked like for you?

The past few years have been an interesting time for the banking industry.

  • In 2020, we had COVID and the Paycheck Protection Program, where we had to quickly figure out how to support our customers through an uncertain time. The UMB team did a terrific job being there for our customers and prospects and worked round the clock to set up the program and administer it.
  • Following that, we, along with the rest of the banking industry, navigated three bank failures in 2023 and the resulting angst that reverberated across the industry.
  • 2024 has been an exciting time for UMB as we entered into an agreement to acquire Heartland Financial Corporation, the company’s largest acquisition in its 111-year history.

Every day has been different as we work through each of these events, but the outstanding teamwork, exceptional execution, and continued evolution and strength of our business all speak to the amazing people and rock-solid foundation we have here at UMB.

How did you manage through the bank failures of 2023?

Ultimately, UMB was incredibly strong and well-positioned during the rough waters that fueled much uncertainty in the industry. We were pre-emptively prepared for any curveball because we had—and continue to have— strong balance sheet management, liquidity and regulatory capital levels. As our CEO Mariner Kemper often notes, we here at UMB believe in gravity – that things that go up eventually come down. And the best offense that help us navigate these circumstances is the preparation and conservative risk management that embodies the DNA of how we think and operate daily. This conservative philosophy is at the core of everything we do – whether it is at our Asset Liability Committee (ALCO) on how we position our balance sheet, or our Credit Committee on how we underwrite our loans.

That timeframe was an opportunity for me to provide counsel to our executive leadership and Board of Directors by sharing industry knowledge and contingency solutions. We had some productive conversations, and I had the opportunity to be the calm voice for many of our customers, investors and rating agencies by highlighting what differentiated UMB from the banks that failed as well as what makes UMB strong. This was important to both our clients and our associates.

UMB announced an acquisition this year, what has that looked like for you?

I was honored to work with our corporate development and other teams within UMB to announce UMB’s largest acquisition in our 111-year-old history of Heartland Financial, USA Inc. (HTLF), in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $2 billion. This financially and strategically compelling acquisition will increase UMB’s asset base by 40% and expand the bank’s footprint from eight to 13 states. As part of my Investor Relations responsibilities, we were able to successfully raise $230 million in growth capital from highly reputed institutional investors who were excited to support the transaction. This transaction has raised significant awareness and followership within the investment community and beyond.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without a stellar team and partners behind and beside me. I am so fortunate to work with extremely talented associates who bring different strengths to the table. Before the acquisition was announced, my team and I worked with more than 200 associates across the organization to conduct extensive due diligence on HTLF’s business and operations.

I strongly believe that building a team and being willing to work with people who are smarter than you makes you better. With the complexities of the financial industry, UMB must have a deep bench of professionals to support our strategic goals. As our Mariner Kemper says, “You can fail quickly if you don’t.” We owe so much of our success to our UMB associates who truly are the heart of our organization.

What has mentorship looked like in your career?

I have been fortunate to have mentors today, and in the past, who have pushed me to take calculated risks and try different things, allowing me to learn, grow and develop the skills needed to be an effective CFO – which is and will always be my ultimate career goal.

My mentors push me to go above and beyond my comfort zone and challenge me to be intellectually curious, and I owe much of my success to them. The lessons I’ve learned from others during the course of my career have positively molded my leadership style and made me who I am as a person and a leader. Since my mentors paid it forward, I see it as my responsibility to do the same for the next generation of banking and financial services leaders.

What does your relationship look like with UMB’s CEO Mariner Kemper?

As CFO, I work closely with Mariner daily‡. I’m thankful we’ve been able to build a constructive partnership where we challenge each other and make each other better and stronger in our respective roles. Banking is a very complex business, and we are fortunate that we can combine our strengths to answer questions about our balance sheet or anything an analyst might throw at us.

We also balance each other’s weaknesses and know we can tackle just about any problem together. I’m lucky because UMB leaders are often invited to many different investor conferences to engage and pitch our story to the investment community, and one that Mariner and I always attend happens to fall on Valentine’s Day. I’ve spent the last eight Valentine’s Days with Mariner. We’ve even given each other roses as a joke and toast to the commitment we have to attending this important annual investment banking conference. It’s a joy and privilege to get to work with someone that I consider family.

Final question: what are you most looking forward to in your career in the years ahead?

I’m looking forward to new opportunities. We’ve had a wild ride the last couple of years, and we have an even more exciting journey ahead of us at UMB with our pending acquisition. I am excited to get to know many new associates, customers and communities as the bank grows.

Ram was recently named a CFO of the Year by the Kansas City Business Journal‡. Read more about him in his award profile‡. For more information about UMB Financial Corporation, visit UMB’s Investor Relations site.

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