My Board Journey.

• Author: Cole, Beverly
• Position: BOARDBOOK

Board service, whether it's for a nonprofit organization or corporate entity, can provide professional growth opportunities and strengthen your personal brand.

My first board experience was with several nonprofit and business chambers. I also served as a state commissioner and a state task force member. Founders First Capital was my first private venture fund board position, and Bank OZK is the first public board on which I have served. My experience has been that public and venture capital boards operate very differently from nonprofit boards. Instead of actively driving results, "noses in and fingers out" is commonly expected. The corporate board's primary role is one of serving with oversight and acting in a fiduciary capacity.

The public board invitation was the result of a dinner meeting with 19 other women. It was hosted by Founders First and Bank OZK. After that dinner meeting, an invitation was extended to meet the CEO and other board members. Leaving those meetings, I felt both comfortable with the group and confident that I could work in a collaborative environment.

I believe Bank OZK was interested in my bank regulatory experience. Initially, I had conducted some safety and soundness examinations for the FDIC, but the FDIC subsequently chose me to work on complex real estate structuring and asset marketing and disposition matters.

My interest in Bank OZK grew from my research, which revealed that the bank was a high-caliber financial institution with a driven culture focused on construction financing. I have several family members who have dabbled in real estate, including my father, who was the proprietor of one of the largest Black hotels in the South. During my professional career, I chose many real estate corporate positions that allowed me to develop expertise in mergers and acquisitions. These positions also allowed me to participate in conflict management processes to resolve stakeholder disputes to achieve successful real estate divestitures and to be involved in real estate deal structuring, construction, commercial and affordable housing, and loan modification programs.

My favorite cartoon character--the world's most famous mouse, Mickey, and team--swayed me from a real estate-focused career. My new job at Disney involved strategic sourcing and was located in a much warmer climate than I had been working in. Moreover, I turned down a CFO position for a manufacturing company's division to work where the sun always...