Today's Featured Biography

 
Donald Davidson

FINS UP.... Does anyone else feel that submitting a bio it's a little bit like writing one's own obituary? Someone once said to me they were sorry they were going to miss their own funeral to which I replied...yea but your only going to miss it by a few days! Anyway here goes......

After 27 years in banking I retired in 1998 at the age of 55 and have been sleeping in late on Monday's for most of the last 12+ years. Only one problem being retired....it's 24/7 with no paid vacations. I still get called to do consulting and when I agree to do so it's mostly because my wife told me that she "married me for better or worse but not for lunch ."

After attending several JC's and getting into business for myself and selling same I started my career with Crocker Bank in 1971. I worked for Crocker until it was acquired by Wells Fargo Bank in 1986.

During my time with Crocker I worked in LA, SF, San Jose and Fresno. I spent 5 years in the banks Master Charge department. I then became the manager for the banks Professional Services Banking group in Southern California, and 2 years later relocated to SF when I took the position of Product Manager for all of the Bank's transportation products (autos, boats, RV's and aircraft ). 1981 was the year I became Marketing Manager for all Crocker community bank branches in the state.

When Wells Fargo announced they were going to acquire Crocker I decided to hop off the stagecoach. I began my "second " career in banking when I took a job with First Interstate Bank back where it all began in downtown Los Angeles. We moved from Fresno to Santa Clarita. My time with First Interstate was spent working in several senior credit administrative positions.

In late 1989 I began my "third, " but little did I know not last, career in this field when Bank of Boston offered me the position of Director of Credit Policy for their newly formed Consumer Finance Group. This relocation ended up with us moving to Foxboro, MA. I worked out of my offices in Boston and Providence, RI. Winter was a new experience for us but little did I know how bad winters could be.

Two years later the Bank asked if I would consider moving to Buenos Aries to work with their banks in Argentina. While the offer was very tempting we just didn't want to move our 5 kids (the youngest was just turning 2), nor did I want to take Spanish lessons again (I was lucky to get a D in Spanish at GHS ).

It was at this time that the Bank acquired a failed savings bank in Hartford, CT. for $115 million, whose only real asset was a small size consumer finance company (Fidelity Acceptance Corp.) located in Minneapolis. The Bank asked me to do a review of the company and report my findings to the Board. Three weeks later the Bank asked if I would take over as the President & CEO of Fidelity.

I got to tell you that for the next 6+ years this was the most fun I ever had in my life..... with my cloths on!

When I first arrived Fidelity, a sub-prime lender for auto & personal loans, operated in 24 states under the name Fidelity Financial Services. They had a little over $225 million in assets, 38 offices and 265 employees. Fidelity also owned Admiral Life Insurance Co. and National Letter (a small printing co ). In 6 years we grew the company to over $1.2 billion in assets with 180 offices in 46 states, 3 offices in Guam, and 800 + employees.


Now about that "bad winter"...When I arrived in Minneapolis it was February, the temp was a "pleasant" - 24 degrees...Welcome to Minnesota !!!!!! I was living in a hotel in downtown Minneapolis and commuting back to Boston on the weekends. For 10 weeks I never really went outside. Minneapolis has a system of walkways connecting all the buildings downtown (they remind one of gerbil tubes) because to go outside in winter can be hazardous to one's health.

We bought a home in Lake Minnatonka and the first Halloween we were there I took 4 of our 5 kids out trick or treating. During our outing it turned very cold and then it began to snow. By the time we got back to the house it was a heavy snowstorm. The next day there was over 14 inches of snow. Minnesota is great if you like cold cold winters, lots of insects in the summer, and meeting folks named after fish parts "Gil and Finn."

It didn't take me long to know that I wanted to move out of Minneapolis and the opportunity came along were we acquired the assets of Century Finance in Kansas City, MO. I relocated our headquarters to downtown KC and moved the family to Leawood, KS.

In 1997 the Bank announced a merger with Fleet Bank in Boston and became FleetBoston. The Bank at this time decided to sell all their subsidiary consumer business which included Fidelity Acceptance. We received an offer from Mercury Finance, the largest sub-prime lender in the country, to purchase 51% of Fidelity for $485 million in Mercury stock. To make a long story short just before the sale was due to close the CFO of Mercury went public with the fact that Mercury had been cooking their books and in fact wanted to acquire Fidelity to cover their loan loss reserves. The Bank backed out of the sale and some months after the SEC indictments were announced, that same CFO was found dead from 5 self-inflected gun shot wounds to the back of his head (I know I exaggerate here...maybe only the first 2 were self-inflected)

In any event, seven months later we were able to sell Fidelity to of all people Wells Fargo Bank and I rode off into retirement on my golden stagecoach.

These days the family and I play lots of golf, travel, and depending on which kid, try to attend every Jimmy Buffet, Neil Diamond, Floggin Molly, and Wide Spread Panic concert we can.

Kerri our oldest daughter graduated from KU in 2008 and is in her 4th year of teaching English in China. Brianne, graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2008, married in 2009 and is currently stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas along with our son-in-law (also an Academy grad) who is a pilot (F-15). Maggie our youngest girl is in her senior year at KSU. Our youngest son is a senior in high school and is being recruited by Div. 1 schools as a diver. Derek our oldest son is working in construction and living the good life...at least according to him!

If there are three things I have learned these past 50 years they are 1) when your kids grow up and leave the home they are never really off the payroll, 2) if crime really didn't pay then the government would run it and 3) the last thing anyone needs in this life is a hobby that eats.....Stay well

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