Realizing dreams and visions

Woman of the Year Nominee

by Allison Shirreffs

May 2, 2008

Tasia Katapodis believes everybody has a story. As a bankerfor more than two decades, Katapodis has heard the stories of scores of entrepreneurs and became a part of their stories by helping them take their businesses to the next level. "If a banker does his job right, he can help a client realize his dreams and visions," says Katapodis, North Atlanta regional president of BB&T
Corp. "It begins in the incubation process."

What does it mean to be a banker doing his or her job right?Several years ago, Katapodis initiated a $4 million loan for Atlanta based Larson-Juhl, a custom frame company. In 2002, Warren
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway acquired the company for a significantsum. According to Stephen Scheppmann, CFO of Larson-Juhl at the time of the acquisition, Katapodis took it upon herself to understand the company's business plan and what the management team wanted to achieve. The numbers were good, but she wanted to know who would make those numbers happen.

"Her gut instinct on underwriting people is extremely strong," Scheppmann says. "There are bankers that operate under the premise that the one with the gold, rules. Her premise is, ‘How can I help this company thrive and succeed because I really believe inthis story.'"

An entrepreneur for more than 50 years, Joel Roth has owned and operated 18 businesses, including Fulton Supply Co. He spent time as a senior vice president at Gulf+Western (now Gulf and Western Industries Inc.) and says he's not one to heap praise on people. But he can't help himself. He's dealt with bankers all over the world, and Katapodis just stands out. "She has a great sensibility - an ability to listen to things and size up and assess a situationquickly," he says. "She's the kind of person you want to do business with. She doesn't have to sell you." Katapodis works hard to build these relationships, and she
considers being privy to people's personal and professional stories. "Creating relationships takes time, and you have to work with people to arrive at the outcome - whether it's a loan or a career," she says. "It's a story about perseverance and making sure to do the right thing."

She describes her leadership style as one of candor, authenticity and consensus. She believes if you offer those things to others, you'll get them in return. She has no trouble being honest with an external client or with someone in the bank. "While I want to meet the company's objectives, I think you can do that with the truth in your hand," says Katapodis. "It's not about a sale, it's about respectfulness. What you need to do as a partner to get the entrepreneur to the next level."

Over the years at several different financial institutions, Katapodis encountered a slew of management styles - some good and some noteworthy for other reasons. She has more than 24 years of banking experience, including 18 with BB&T. She started with the bank in Charlotte, as a business services officer and then came to Atlanta as BB&T's first employee here. She headed the loan
production office before BB&T's full entry into the market through several mergers. In January 2006 she was named the area executive
in Atlanta.

And even though Katapodis works for one of the largest financial holding companies in the nation (BB&T has assets of more than $130 billion), she considers herself an entrepreneur. Perhaps that's
because the management style that resonated most with her was her father's.

In 1953, Katapodis' parents emigrated from the Greek island of Cephalonia to Memphis. Her father worked at her uncle's food condiment supply business and later ran his own poultry company. Growing up, Katapodis worked at her father's business on weekends and in doing so, met all kinds of small-business owners. She was comfortable working with them and was able to watch her father's interactions with them. The experience taught her that hard work is a must, but that it isn't enough. You have to have respect for others. In fact, her father was so intent on protecting the pride of his customers that he wouldn't return bounced checks. He had certain catch phrases, like, "Big shots were once little shots that kept shooting." More than anything, Katapodis' father and mother, who didn't have access to the level of education available to her and her older sister, impressed upon her that education was the ticket to bigger and better things, including a broader understanding of the world. Katapodis' graduation from Vanderbilt University was a proud
moment for her and her parents, but Scheppmann, now executive vice president and CFO, Teradata Corp., believes Katapodis' father's combination of hard work and respect taught her as much, if not more, than any university ever could. "A business school can't teach that," he says. "You can't fool Tasia. She doesn't want you to sugarcoat anything. Just give her the facts."

Even though Katapodis answers to a companywith 29,000 employees and 1,500 financial centers in11 states, BB&T's corporate model fits her personalstyle. BB&T's banking subsidiaries are organized as
a group of community banks, each with a regional president. Decisions are made locally, and clients have access to decision makers like Katapodis, who - on Tuesdays and Thursdays - goes into the market and meets with employees and their prospects. Katapodis estimates she meets with from 400 to 500 prospects a year. The rest of the week, she's busy directing lines of business - banking, insurance, investment and
other financial offerings - on behalf of the bank. "It's a vast market," Katapodis explains. "We interface all these lines of business in front of our clients using a collaborative and consulting approach." When not assessing risk, Katapodis spends time with her husband, Harry, daughter Nicole, son Harrison, and her 81-year old mother who has lived with Katapodis since her father died. Giving back is important to the 48-year-old banker, and she's servedas an executive board member of the League of Women Voters, served on the board of directors for the Foundation of Medically Fragile Children and is a member of the Metro Chamber of Commerce.

She's encouraged her children to volunteer at a soup kitchen. "Volunteering at a nonprofit is a great example to give kids so they don't get precocious," Katapodis says. "When kids have a different life than you grew up with -one where all is possible - it's important to be humbled and reminded that it's a privilege."