Leadership

When Tom Bailey was a young professional at Brentwood Bank, he’d regularly arrive early to help with bookkeeping. Once business hours began, Tom would then assume his teller position, quickly gaining an understanding of how to best help customers. Yet, whenever he could, he’d find the time to learn more about mortgage lending and processing.

That dedication to master the many aspects of banking has helped Tom grow into the highly competent and compassionate leader that he is today. Under his stewardship, Brentwood Bank has experienced an era of growth, with a significant increase in both assets and income.

Of all the lessons Tom has learned, perhaps the most important is this: customers turn to Brentwood Bank for help during some of the most critical times of their lives. So, it’s just as important to lend an ear as it is a loan.

Tom’s lifelong love of learning and helping others do the same is still alive and well. He’s a Member Director of the FHLBank Pittsburgh Board of Directors, the PA Representative to the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) Federal Delegate Board, a member and former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers, and the Treasurer of Bethel Park’s Education Foundation and Police Merit Awards Board. He has also testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and GSE and the PA House Judiciary Committee.

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in Economics, Tom also keeps on the move outside of banking, enjoying spending time with family as well as running and biking on local trails, country roads and, when given the chance, national parks.

Today, Carrie is our SVP Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, but when she started her first job at the FIDC, she didn’t even know what those initials stood for (it’s Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in case you were wondering). Her work there as a Safety & Soundness Bank Examiner gave her the best training possible for her future career, which involves wearing more than one hat.

Those hats include managing risk and compliance, adhering to all Federal and State regulations and developing policies and procedures that minimize risk. Plus, Carrie also acts as our Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Officer and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Officer.

That last role is her favorite, allowing her to use Brentwood’s resources to assist local community development organizations, which is what community banking is all about. The benefits of all this hard work? The satisfaction of helping our customers and communities to achieve their dreams.

Carrie is a proud alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned a BS in Business Administration and a second BS in Psychology. She never stops learning, following the advice “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”  Carrie believes that you can discover a great deal by visiting new places and learning from what they have to offer. 

Dave’s been interested in money management ever since he had his first paper route. He credits his strong work ethic and discipline from a five-year stint in the Navy, during which he managed the ship’s finances and payroll.

As the SVP, Chief Accounting Officer at Brentwood Bank, Dave helps us straddle the line between risk and reward, ensuring the health of our balance sheet by uncovering opportunities in different interest rate environments. As if that wasn’t enough, Dave also keeps our accounting and finance teams operating as efficiently and effectively as possible.

So, what’s his favorite part of working at Brentwood Bank? Volunteering for the many community activities we sponsor. For example, Dave helped lay the flooring for a local home building project. So, how’d he do? After some bumps along the way (literally), Dave’s part of the project turned out great. And the homeowner was overwhelmed with the entire effort.

A graduate of California University of PA with a BS in Business Administration: Accounting, Dave loves taking day trips with his family to different zoos and animal habitats, as well as camping and hiking on the picturesque trails of southwestern Pennsylvania.

How devoted is Craig to best-in-class service? Once, an elderly customer was having difficulty logging into our internet banking system. Instead of walking him through the steps over the phone, Craig went to the man’s home to assist him personally.

While he can’t visit each and every customer, Craig still brings that same level of care to his role as Brentwood Bank’s Chief Information Officer, where he oversees the institution’s information and technology strategies.

Craig’s interest and dedication to security extends beyond the bank. He’s involved with two groups that help him to stay ahead of the latest financial scams and threats. Craig serves as the Deputy Sector Chief for Financial Services for the FBI-sponsored Infragard-Pittsburgh. He’s also an active member of the Financial Services Information Sharing Analysis Center (FS-ISAC).

Craig earned a BS in Accounting and Business/ Management from Robert Morris University before honing his skills further by receiving an MBA from Duquesne University. He’s a lifelong resident of Southwestern PA. The only places he likes more? A visit to either a beach or wine country.

To Jeff Skocik, lending is both a science and an art.

Luckily, he’s skilled at both. 

As Brentwood Bank Chief Lending Officer, Jeff enjoys parsing the data and crunching the numbers that help his customers best achieve their goals. That’s the science. But he equally revels in the communication that collectively helps he and his customers arrive at those goals in the first place. That’s the art. 

Taken together, Jeff’s consultative approach to lending is greatly appreciated by the many real estate developers, construction companies and business professionals he serves. Of course, Jeff wouldn’t do it any other way. To him, understanding the unique financial needs of each client then finding the right mix of Brentwood Bank’s products and services to meet them is what his job is all about. Or, as Jeff so often says, “Many lenders can get you a loan. Our goal is to get you the right loan.”

When not helping exceed customers’ needs, Jeff enjoys spending as much time as possible with his family. A passionate sportsman, Jeff also takes pleasure fishing and hunting in the many exceptional outdoor settings Western PA has to offer.   

When he began his career as an auditor of banks, Pittsburgher Steve Wolk never dreamed that he’d end up working as a banker. But after a large community bank in Boston recruited him, the rest, as they say, was history. Now, Brentwood Bank is the beneficiary of his formidable skills.

Today, Steve works to create an environment that empowers our people to deliver the very best customer experience while inspiring and developing future generations of thought leaders and community bankers.

What makes Steve the proudest about his career is the fact that as he has advanced professionally, his direct reports were promoted right behind him. Knowing that he’s played a key role in supporting their career growth gives Steve great satisfaction.

Steve’s a graduate of the California University of PA with a BS in Earth Science. He earned an MBA in Finance from Indiana University of PA and an MS in Accountancy from Bentley University. He’s also a licensed CPA and member of both AICPA and MassCPA.

After living outside our region for almost fifteen years, Steve appreciates being back in Pittsburgh where he can cheer on his hometown teams again, win or lose.

Ever since starting at Brentwood Bank 26 years ago, Tom has fueled his personal desire to learn and grow by getting involved in our most critical operations.

Tom is naturally curious and loves both learning – and sharing – new things. That makes him the perfect leader for our Retail Banking team, which includes Brentwood Bank’s branches, call center, business banking team and deposit operations team.

Tom and his teams fill the vital role of solving our customers’ problems, fulfilling their banking needs and creating lasting, meaningful relationships.

A testimony to Tom’s effort is framed in his office. It’s a letter from a customer who had relocated to Alaska but chose to keep her Brentwood Bank accounts thanks to the uncompromising attention and service she received. It’s a reminder to Tom and his team of the difference Brentwood Bank makes in our customers’ lives.

A graduate of Robert Morris University (BS, Accounting), Tom is also a veteran of the U.S. Army, a CPA and a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In his spare time, Tom loves to build, whether it’s tinkering with his classic Ford Fairlane or taking on a new home project. In keeping with his character, he’s always happy to lend a hand to anyone who needs it.

Creating Brentwood Bank’s neighborly feel is engrained in everything Terri does. It begins with hiring the right people. Terri has an innate ability to not only recruit the talented candidates but instill Brentwood Bank’s customer-first mantra within them. She says it’s a skill that combines empathy with a solid business strategy. 

Terri believes Steve Jobs best summed up the approach she follows: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

Terri’s human resources career spans decades of working with organizations from small non-profits to large corporations. She covets providing a positive and fulfilling experience for Brentwood Bank’s staff because it doesn’t just make their work better – it makes their lives better, too.

Away from work, Terri is active in her professional community, serving as a civil service commission board member with her local municipality. She also enjoys spending time with her family, friends and dog Molly, as well as trying new restaurants (preferably Italian) and visiting local breweries.