Like his old boss, he isn't the retiring type.

• Author: Brown, Kathy
• Position: Charles Snipes of Bank of Granite Corp.

At an age when most executives are retired, Charles Snipes started a new job. But then, being 72 at Granite Falls-based Bank of Granite Corp. is different than being that age at other companies.

That's because of the standard set by John A. Forlines Jr., 88, who stepped down in January as chairman after more than 50 years as the company's top executive. The corporation is a holding company for the 100-year-old bank once heralded by billionaire investor Warren Buffet as the best-run in the United States.

Snipes has been the bank's president since 1987 and its chief executive since 1994. He became CEO of the holding company in January 2005 after outlasting at least two others whose names had been connected to the jobs. He took over all those positions from Forlines. "I learned a lot of things from John Forlines. The greatest thing was that you've got to watch expenses."

Snipes grew up in Lincolnton. At 19 he tried to volunteer for the Air Force rather than be drafted during the Korean War. A recruiter told him the Air Force quota was filled and referred him to the Army. He served in the U.S. Army Security Agency three years, two of them in Germany, and left the service as a sergeant first class.

He returned to the United States and got a bachelor's in...