Robert Rene Fiallo is a distinguished banking executive with over three decades of experience in financial leadership. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Robert Rene Fiallo began his career as a loan officer at Maryland National Bank before rapidly ascending to leadership positions across various financial institutions.
As vice president and regional manager at First Tennessee Bank and later executive vice president at F&M Bank, Mr. Fiallo demonstrated exceptional talent in banking operations. His career reached new heights when he became chairman and CEO of Fidelity & Trust Bank in Bethesda, Maryland, from 2002 to 2007, followed by a role as division president at Sterling Capital in Chicago.
Later, Mr. Fiallo served as chairman of Potomac Financial Holdings in Vienna, Virginia, for four years. Currently, he serves as chairman and CEO of Bank Advisors, LLC, in Bethesda, Maryland, a position he has held since 2015.
Mr. Fiallo’s expertise encompasses various aspects of banking leadership, including managing bank mergers, startups, and acquisitions. He is presently working on establishing a de novo bank in the U.S. Virgin Islands, demonstrating his commitment to expanding financial services in underserved markets.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My typical day begins with taking our dog out for a walk first thing in the morning, followed by a workout in my home gym. After showering, I prepare a light breakfast and then follow that day’s agenda, which has already been planned out in advance. I’m usually engaged in activities which primarily consist of in-person meetings and calls with clients, employees, or colleagues from within the banking community.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I’m a big fan of spit-balling ideas with a group of trusted individuals who are known to view a potential opportunity from different perspectives. I always try to promote that there should be no pride of authorship and encourage everyone to speak with candor. Once a particular idea has at least been conceptually embraced, one of our team members will perform due diligence and if this comes back clean, then a more concrete implementation plan is put into effect. The next step is to secure buy-in from our stakeholders, which typically begins and ends with my board of directors. This leads to the execution of a desired outcome, with continuous monitoring until completion.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I’m in banking, and the most recent trend which excites me has been a migration towards a fintech environment. This movement and its support from the regulatory community allows smaller financial institutions to develop scale and efficiencies in a manner that I would not have thought possible even a decade ago. Our business sector has gone from a brick-and-mortar branch office model to almost exclusively remote banking, where our clients virtually have 24-hour access to their money by leveraging online and mobile banking solutions.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
It’s my strong opinion that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. As such, I believe that consistency is a habit which binds the more important character traits together and ultimately helps to breed success.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t sweat the small stuff! There’s a saying, “youth is wasted on the young,” and that’s a universal truism that’s hard to argue. Unfortunately, when we are young and inexperienced, there’s a considerable lack of perspective. This fact of life went right past me, and I tended to magnify minor events out of proportion and looking back upon those occurrences years later tends to underscore just how insignificant some of those perceived calamities truly were.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
I believe the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions are actually going to win the Super Bowl one of these days.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Identify and act upon a charitable action every single day of your life. To be clear, this doesn’t need to be a major event, but rather a simple kindness or selfless act which has a positive effect upon someone not named you.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
From my perspective, feeling overwhelmed is quite different from a lack of focus. The latter might be rooted in a lack of sleep or perhaps disinterest in the subject matter, and my solutions to this could differ greatly based upon the catalyst. That being said, feeling overwhelmed tends to be a regular occurrence. My solution is a fairly simple one: prioritize the various tasks which require doing and then take action. There’s an old adage which states that you can only catch one rabbit at a time. I’ve heard claims that some people are really good at multitasking, but I’ve yet to meet one. The individuals who are the most effective in dealing with stress and combating the feeling of being overwhelmed are, in my opinion, the ones who can stop and organize their thoughts and then take the necessary actions required to knock out these items sequentially in order of importance.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Check your ego at the door and give credit for accomplishments to the folks on your team. The reality is that if your team is successful and you happen to be the leader, then, ultimately, credit is going to come your way regardless. The difference is that if good ideas and hard work from your colleagues are recognized, this fosters a conducive atmosphere that most anyone would want to be part of. Naturally, people want to emulate successful outcomes, and if they actually witness the aforementioned actions bearing fruit, then it’s likely this will permeate throughout the entire organization.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
I did a poor job of reading the tea leaves during an economic recession and attempted to acquire a troubled bank, which ultimately was shuttered by the regulators before we could close on the deal. There’s an axiom in poker which says “never chase a straight,” and I should have heeded this advice. This opportunity had a lot of upside, so I personally put in more money than would be the norm and then became emotionally invested in the deal. The fact of the matter is that I was unable to overcome some pretty, insurmountable circumstances, but the lesson learned is to never get emotional about a potential business deal and, whenever possible, seek advice and then listen to the folks who have earned your trust.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
I think it’s critically important to follow up with people and committed tasks. As such, I would highly recommend employing some type of contact management software system and to spend the time setting up alerts and reminders. I can barely remember what I was wearing yesterday, so trying to stay on top of numerous actions would be an impossibility for me without some type of CRM.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
I’m a voracious reader and subscribe to the fact that those of us who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. It’s my opinion that Ben Franklin is one of the greatest Americans to have lived, and I would encourage anyone to read his autobiography. Truly an amazing person.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I enjoyed the Yellowstone series. Well written with good actors…akin to the Soprano’s but set in Montana.
Key learnings
- Hard work trumps undisciplined talent – consistency unites the character traits most central to success.
- Planning, organization, and prioritization are the keys to completing objectives – planning sustains productivity, while prioritization and organization prevent overwhelm.
- Successful idea execution and sound decision-making are rooted in collaboration, diverse perspectives, and due diligence.
- Prioritize team cohesion – foster trust and idea-sharing, recognize good work, and give credit where it’s due.