Andrew Null serves as senior vice president, director of consumer administration at UMB Bank. Learn how partnerships are the key to his success.
What’s your career path been like at UMB?
My brother got me interested in a job at UMB. He was working for the bank and encouraged me to apply for a branch manager position in Kansas City. I was lucky enough to be hired, but I had big shoes to fill as I joined a very successful branch team. I served as the branch manager at UMB’s Plaza location for five years and every year, we were one of the top three banking centers for the company. I had a great team of bankers working for me, but I quickly learned we needed solid partnerships with other UMB partners throughout the bank to be successful. Building relationships and learning to work with everyone led me to my next position as the manager of credit delivery.
This was a new position for the bank, and I was focused on streamlining and updating our lending processes and procedures to create a better user experience for our associates and in turn our customers. I was quickly able to show through hard work and determination that I would get projects done and support positive change in the division. After a few years, I was promoted to my current role, director of consumer administration.
Throughout my career, it has been a privilege to be on the delivery, operations and customer facing side of banking. I’ve been able to work in several different positions that have taught me all the aspects of retail banking. At the bank, we are all intertwined, and it is important to be a strong resource and partner for others.
Tell me about your team – Consumer Administration
The Consumer Administration team is involved in several different aspects ranging from the division’s strategy all the way down to the tactical elements of projects. We are the behind-the-scenes analysts of the department.
It is our job to look at reports from across our division and see what’s working well for our customers and where we have room for improvement. We are bankers, so we love having data to help us drive performance and results for our customers and UMB. One important thing we manage is making sure our bankers have all the data they need to help our customers. For example, as we increase our digital capabilities, we’ve created webpages and internal documents for our associates to have at their fingertips to ensure they can always answer a customer’s question and help them with the new technology.
We are here to help our partners feel empowered to care for our customers. Before anything gets in front of the customer, our team is working on the backend to make sure everything works smoothly. We also make sure all of our projects are tracking against our division strategy and ladder up to our long-term goals. My team makes sure everything we do is centered on the customer.
Your team does a lot behind the scenes for the customer. What might a customer be surprised to learn about the nuts and bolts of the division?
Nothing is as simple as you think it is, but our job is to make it simple and easy for the customer. My team gets to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, which makes everyday fun and unique. We help the division think through all the parts of a project and figure out how they can work across all the different departments to improve our customer’s experience with UMB.
I never know what problem or idea is going to come across my desk, but I know my team will be able to solve and execute on just about anything to make our customer experience better.
Tell us about your family.
I’ve been married for 12 years and we have four kids ranging from eight to two-years-old. We live on 15 acres and I love showing my kids the property. We built a garden this summer and hope to add a chicken coop next year and maybe a few goats and cattle.
This summer, our family spent a lot of time camping together – well, really glamping. We have a camper that we drive around Kansas and Missouri and enjoy different camp sites. Every other year we travel to Oklahoma for a big camping trip with family. Hopefully next year we can make it down there!
How do you bring your passion for outdoors back to the bank?
I created a walking path around my property to give me a space to exercise and get some fresh air. While working from home, I would go out there when I had a break and use the quiet to think and find creative solutions for projects. These walks usually lead to more phone calls or additional meetings, but some great solutions have come these walks. I also love when my kids join me, and we talk about life together. My two-year-old daughter loves to be strapped to my back and ask me a million questions. A walk, a little fresh air and a childlike perspective are good for the soul.
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