Meet Abby Tardiff of ANB Bank in Cherry Creek

Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Tardiff.

Abby, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in Centennial, in the Willow Creek neighborhood to be exact, and I am very thankful for all I was blessed with growing up – an amazing family, church, friends, schools, athletics, etc. I played volleyball competitively and always knew I wanted to play in college, so when West Virginia University showed an interest in me, I checked it out and immediately fell in love with the landscape, the culture, and the people. I (gladly) accepted a full-ride scholarship to join the team, and I ended up playing for four years there. We had a very tight-knit crew that came in as freshmen together and graduated together – very unique for college athletics that all in the class would stay together all four years. We worked hard as leaders to shape the culture of the team, with the help and guidance of an amazing new head coach, Jill Kramer, halfway through my career there. Anyway, I ended up graduating with degrees in Business Management and World Languages (Spanish), and I had no clue what field of business I wanted to go into. My mom always told me that she knew I’d go to grad school like she and my dad both had, so I decided that was the perfect next step.

(Side note, my mom passed away near the end of my junior year in college from triple-negative breast cancer, after a long eight-year fight. She was my best friend and a huge influence in every walk of my life.)

I ended up graduating with my MBA 14 months later (it was an intensive, accelerated program) while working in the WVU athletic department throughout the program. As the program was wrapping up, I found an incredible local community bank (or maybe they found me?) in Morgantown, West Virginia, and it was the perfect match. I knew nothing about the industry, so I jumped in with both feet, trying to learn all I could. I quickly realized I was in the perfect field for me – it’s exciting, I have the challenge of putting out little fires each day, I get to solve problems, I can work with numbers AND people, I touch all sorts of industries, and I learn new things each day. There are both order and a little chaos, which makes it interesting yet routine, which fits my personality perfectly. I started as a Commercial Underwriter, which was a great foundation for commercial banking.

After about a year, I took the typical path at that bank to move up to a Portfolio Manager. I had the opportunity to work directly with an incredible, experienced lender named Julie Gurtis. She was a phenomenal leader and taught me so much of what I know and how I lead today. About six months in, the President of the entire bank walked to my office, and I will never forget that day. He said, “Abby, are you ready to be a Lender?” I quickly thought of what I thought was the best way to respond – careful yet ambitious. I responded, “Absolutely, Rick! I mean maybe not TOMORROW, but definitely soon. I’m learning a lot and I love it.” He responded with, “Buckle up. You start Monday, and you’ve earned it.” This was definitely a fast track that I wasn’t expecting, and I didn’t have the confidence in myself at the time, so I closed my door and called my fiancé (now my husband) crying. Always my biggest encourager, he reminded me of my capabilities and about the incredible opportunity this was for me. So, that next week, I started taking all the random walk-ins. I had to have face-to-face conversations with strangers and act like I had it all together right then and there. I was like the duck analogy – calm and collected on the surface and frantically paddling underneath.

Anyway, after about a year and a half, I finally felt like I “got it”, and my dad called me, saying he was preparing the house I grew up in to sell. I spoke with Zacary, my husband, and proposed the idea of moving back to Colorado. I had warned him when he met me that I would move back one day for good and raise my family there – I was sure of that. So only a few weeks later, I had interviews lined up (once I get an idea in my head, there is no stopping me). A couple of phone interviews went okay, but as soon as I got a call from Matt Baldner (my current boss), I knew within 30 seconds that he was the person I wanted to work for. I went through the interview process at ANB Bank, and every single person I interacted with was someone I knew I could work with and be happy each day going to work with. I started as a Lender/Banking Officer in Castle Rock, and four years later, that’s where I am today, and I LOVE it. Yes, there are long and hard days, but for the vast majority of the time, I am happily busy, helping customers, growing relationships, and out in the community establishing roots. I have gone through some wonderful leadership programs at my prior bank and at ANB, and that, coupled with some great coaches, mentors, managers, and leaders, I am who I am today.

Has it been a smooth road?
My mom battled triple-negative breast cancer from the time I was in middle school, all the way through part of college. In college, I was across the country from her and super busy with school and volleyball, but through it all, she was one of my biggest fans and made sure to let me know that I made the right decisions, she believed in me, and that God would take care of us. Losing her was the hardest thing I’ve gone through in my life, but it made me grow a LOT. My faith (she modeled this greatly through my childhood and up until her last breath) grew stronger when she passed. I learned to love others more than myself finally. It wasn’t easy, and it’s still not. She never got to meet my husband or our child, for example. But I know she’s with me at all times and she’s proud of me.

Additionally, I’ve never been the star player on the volleyball court, and I know that. I’m okay with it. I truly believe I got my scholarship because (in small part) I’m tall and (primarily because) I’m coachable. They saw something in me that they liked, and it wasn’t my pure, raw talent – that’s for sure, because that’s not me. I’ve always had to listen to my coaches and work hard.

In my banking career, I’ve definitely run into some bumps in the road – unhappy customers, errors made while conducting business, bad loans that I’ve had to work out, etc. but each one teaches me something new, and for that, I’m very grateful.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
Oh, I love my company so much. I hope I retire with this company (in however many years from now that may be). ANB Bank is like a family. We are always improving and taking steps to grow our customers, communities, and employees. I am a Vice President of Commercial (and Consumer) Lending at the Castle Rock branch. We are a privately-held, local community bank. We are headquartered in Cherry Creek, and we have over 30 branches up and down the front range and mountain towns in Colorado, throughout Wyoming, and Kansas City. We are a relationship bank, true to the core. We are full-service, with about $2.6 billion in assets, and I always like to say we are small but mighty.

I am incredibly proud of our company, especially during this strange and uncertain season. We have been able to help so many customers with their businesses through our loan deferral program and the PPP loans (part of the CARES Act). When everything shut down in mid-March, I was able to call every single customer of mine to check in and let them know proactively how we were going to be able to help them out with loan payments and payroll help. One of our internal mottos is that we want to be “good in the good times and great in the bad”, and I truly feel we have lived up to this.

We also have a great Leadership Development Council of which I have recently become a member. We work on company-wide initiatives and programs. I’m very honored to chair our Coaching and Mentoring Sub-Committee through that program. COACH is an important model at our company for managers and other company leaders to help develop their teammates, translating to success and growth in their careers. I don’t have any direct reports at this time, but I do try to embrace the ideas behind the model, such as communicating our culture daily and grabbing the heart of customers and employees, showing personal care and attention to all.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I do think the greater Denver area is a great place to start. I’m not a business owner, but my biggest recommendation is to surround yourself with a capable, caring, willing team that will be your ambassadors. This includes a local bank, CPA, attorney, etc. I also highly recommend getting involved in the local Chamber and Economic Development Council. I’m on the Board of the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce, and it is such a great resource for businesses and an awesome opportunity to network and grow. Something unique about Castle Rock is that the Chamber, the EDC, and the Town all work together so well and deliberately collaborate on a regular basis. They coordinate and work together. If all towns/municipalities did this, I feel it would make things more efficient and purposeful.

Contact Info:

• Address: 3851 Sol Danza Drive, Castle Rock, CO 80109
• Website: ANBbank.com
• Phone: 3033945671
• Email: abigail.tardiff@anbbank.com

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