Latest / The Wilmac Wire / Building a Career at JPMC, Supporting Local Business, & Regional Leadership with Casey Fitzgerald
Transcript
- speaker-0: Roses are red, violets are blue. We're talking AI, innovation, community, and what's coming next for you. Welcome to the WillMac Wire. I'm sorry, I had to do that intro. I love a holiday-themed pun. So maybe you hated it, maybe you loved it, either way. Thanks for tuning in. Welcome to the WillMac Wire. We had a lovely in-person recording session at Rock Fox Studios for today's episode with a local leader. Casey Fitzgerald, the executive director and Western New York market executive at JP Morgan. Willmak Technologies has a business relationship with JP Morgan as our commercial bankers. So I've had the pleasure of getting to know Casey and his team that are local to Rochester through a multitude of events. So when we welcomed Casey on the podcast and what you can expect out of today's episode includes a conversation about his career journey. He spent over 18 years at JP Morgan. So what has that been like growing through the ranks, building a career within a global institution? We also discussed commercial banking and where it fits into businesses. And we also discussed Casey and his team's community involvement. I have to shout out Eric Allen and Faith Schumacher from the JP Morgan team, who I've had the pleasure of getting to know through some of those community events over the past few years. Hopefully we get to have you guys on the podcast as well soon. Casey. Thank you for joining us for today's episode. To our listeners, I hope you enjoy today's episode and pull some really interesting insights about ⁓ building a career within an organization, about commercial banking, and about ways to get involved in the community. So thank you for tuning in, and I will turn it over to today's interview. Welcome to the Will MacWire. I'm Emily Miller, joined by my co-host, Steve McDonald. On this show, we talk the drivers, the leaders, innovators, and decision makers pushing customer interaction technology and AI forward. And because we're proud to call Western New York home, we also spotlight the drivers in our own community, the people and organizations shaping growth and innovation right here. Let's get into it. Coming in at six feet tall from Rochester, New York, Growing through the ranks of global financial services institution JP Morgan Chase, now serving as the executive director and Western New York market executive, an organizer of the JP Morgan Chase corporate challenge in Rochester annually, and volunteering his time on the boards of Big Brother, Big Sisters of America for the past 11 years and the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce for the past two years, welcome to the Will MacWire Casey Fitzgerald. speaker-1: Thank you. Thanks for, appreciate the invitation and looking forward to the discussion today. speaker-0: Yeah, we're happy to have you here in person at Rock Fox Studios in Rochester, New York. So we're going to start things off with a little bit of an ice breaker that we like to call this or that. So I'm going to give you three very lighthearted prompts that you either choose one or the other and you can expand why you like that. And Steve, can give your two cents as well. So we'll start things off a little seasonally and a little hopeful, but Rochester in fall or Rochester in the spring. I can't give you a winter. It's too cold. speaker-1: I love summer, love skiing and playing hockey as well. So I do enjoy the seasons. If it was spring or fall, spring's nice because the snow's melting, the trees are blooming, but I would have to say fall. I love the crisp fall air and the leaves falling and taking the dogs for a walk. speaker-2: We haven't had anyone say spring yet. speaker-0: It's because we have a fake spring. think that's the reason spring lasts like two weeks. I think I got to change that question up. Okay, I'm going to skip ahead because I do think ⁓ the fall is beautiful down at the Finger Lakes. So the next question would be ⁓ corporate challenge day or a quiet weekend in the Finger Lakes. speaker-1: That's a tough answer. We'll say corporate challenge day. A lot of work goes into it, but it is a truly special night and seeing close to 10,000 people in downtown Rochester and running and the culture that it drives for all the local business community. ⁓ It's a special evening that we look forward to every year. speaker-0: When you're a tough position. Yeah, love it. That puts you in a compromising position already. I'm sorry. speaker-1: Nice, nice. Right off the bat. Right off the bat. After the event. speaker-0: Think about it. Both are good. We like both for different reasons. Okay. And last one out chatting with clients or working in the office. speaker-1: I would say out chatting with clients. That's one of the great things about the job. ⁓ You get to meet a lot of people, see a lot of different businesses and really I'm more of a social person. So being out in the community is really what I enjoy. speaker-2: Love it. got a fourth. Pedal or golf. speaker-0: your forehead. speaker-1: You guys got some tough icebreakers. speaker-0: I'm not sure what's for one. speaker-2: That one speaker-1: I enjoy golf. think paddled gives me a little bit more of the competitive drive. I am competitive in golf, but I don't play enough where I like to enjoy the four hours and relax a little bit. speaker-2: For all our non Rochester listeners too, you might want to look up paddle tennis to see what it is. It's popular. speaker-0: Listen, I didn't know what it was and I was from Buffalo, so I was unaware. All right, great. Thanks for ⁓ chatting with us, Casey, about your this or that and making those fun choices. So, ⁓ we'll start things off just by, I'm going to ask you to tell us a little bit more about your background and how did you end up at JPMorgan Chase. speaker-1: Yeah, I was born and raised in Rochester, grew up, went to Gates Jail. I candidly didn't know what direction I wanted to go. Didn't know what I wanted to be when I grow up. Still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but my two older siblings both went to school for business. So it sounded like a good idea. So I went to university at Buffalo and started, ⁓ you know, lot of finance classes. I was a dual major in finance and marketing. And I was working classic college job, actually roofing houses. And I had stitches on the bottom of my foot and I couldn't roof anymore. So yeah, this is a different career career start. So I had a house in Buffalo and I went back to school early before, before all the students returned. And I put on a suit and started walking. This was pre LinkedIn jobs and job searches. So I ultimately walked into a first Niagara retail branch and asked if they were hiring. And they said, no, apply online. And as I was proceeding through the lobby, I spoke with a few other employees and the branch manager and I started the following week. So I was a bank teller through college. And it was a candidly a great experience because I think it introduced me into the financial industries, but they were very flexible where I could go to practice in the morning. would come in and work the morning rush and then I would leave for class at 10 AM and then I would come back in the afternoon. So it was very flexible, but it also kind of started, started me in banking. Graduated. Soon after started at JP in retail and got licensed and. thought it was a great way with a great institution to build my resume. And from there, I started my MBA soon after I just realized that I wanted to continue to improve ⁓ personally and professionally and find ways to differentiate myself. After about a year, I was introduced to more the corporate banking side, helping local businesses grow and bringing the breadth of JP Morgan to the Rochester community. So after 14 months, I moved to the commercial bank and I've been sitting in the commercial bank for the past 18 years now. speaker-2: So you originally were at the retail side of JPMC. speaker-1: I was for a little over a year. And I was in the tower downtown. I mean, we'll speak to career advice, but I spent a lot of time just quote unquote bumping into folks in the building. speaker-0: Let me ask you called out practice. You are a collegiate athlete. speaker-1: So soccer was my main sport and there were some small D3 schools that I didn't really have a great interest in going away to. So I went to University of Buffalo with no intention of playing a sport and my sophomore year, they have a division one club hockey team and ACHA. So I started playing hockey. speaker-0: ⁓ cool, Steve and I are both college athletes. speaker-2: We have a hoop in the office. We have a mini hoop. You haven't been in lately. Yeah. We have like a, it's a little bit more advanced than a Nerf hoop. But it sits probably eight feet. speaker-0: Yeah. ⁓ yeah, yeah. I don't think I'd attempt to dunk on it in front of anyone. But yeah, I always like to ask that because it sounds like, that first job that you got, it was like you were competitive and you weren't going take no for an answer. So you went in and you figured it. speaker-1: Yeah. I mean, you have rent in college and you want a little spare change as well in your pocket. So, you know, I went and did my best to try and find a job. Terry Pagula gave him huge gift and Penn State went Division I. They are still club. ⁓ Clubhawk, it was a great balance, candidly. We traveled the Northeast, Michigan, Ohio. Played a lot of great schools. Practices were at 5.30 a.m. So that, it helped steer my academics as well. ⁓ But they are still Division I club. I would love to see them go. Peer Division 1, there's 40,000 students. Canada's 20 minutes away. speaker-2: Maybe we can get some money from Pakula. speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. Now that the Sabres are starting to play well. speaker-0: All right, so Casey, you talked a little bit about it, but ⁓ you started in retail banking at JPMC and then you moved into the commercial side and you spent almost two decades building your career within one institution. So how has that journey evolved as you moved from more of an individual contributor to more leadership positions? speaker-1: Yeah, I think early on it's learning the fundamentals, understanding client needs, client relationships, mastering product solutions. You know, there's over 300,000 employees at JP Morgan. It's a large global institution. never stop learning day in and day out. So I think early on that was the focus on learning from others. ⁓ and understanding how the business operates and really, as I said, just mastering the craft of knowing the bank inside and out. Right. As my career kind of evolved and now I've moved into leadership, it's empowering teams, driving culture, driving strategy with other leaders, developing talent. Really pushing people to find ways to grow individually and help them achieve their goals. So, you know, it's great to see local clients grow and their businesses to succeed. And it's also great to see members of your team grow in their positions and meet their goals and build great careers. speaker-2: So you talked about leadership. ⁓ I think most of the public and people listening know your CEO is probably one of, not probably, is one of the most influential leaders in the world currently, if not the most. ⁓ Do you get firsthand exposure to stuff? Obviously, he's very public, but do you get exposure to stuff that the public doesn't? is there, does he stress leadership within the company as much as he stresses it outside the company? speaker-1: JP Morgan ⁓ is ⁓ fairly flat ⁓ from a leadership perspective. So we have lot of great leaders, but also ⁓ leadership and product and across all of our lines of business. ⁓ So you're really. taking the breadth of JP Morgan and the resources and deploying it locally to the businesses and segment that you work with. speaker-0: ⁓ Let me ask, while you've been at JPMorgan Chase, have any periods of time or things that have happened that you feel like like turning to key turning points or momentum shifts during your time there? speaker-1: ⁓ So there's been a number of external shocks to financial markets, which I've lived through. We're doing PPP loans out of the basement, the global financial crisis. ⁓ But although there are a lot of inflection points, which... occurred during my career. Candidly, think consistency, day in and day out, fighting complacency, looking for continual growth has been more impactful. ⁓ I think I've heard a quote and I've heard it before, but Tom Brady said, you know, to be successful in anything, you don't have to be You don't have to be special. You just have to be what most people aren't. And it's consistent, determined and willing to work for it. in the society we live in today, think everyone sees social media and people's life highlights and they have perfect lives. And really, I think that's great. but at the same time, showing up day in and day out and working hard and continuing to learn. You know atomic habits 1 % better every day Just just always continuing to fight complacency and find ways where you can improve Yeah, be well rad read the news right and and I think if I look back over my career That's probably the most impactful thing which has compounded over 20 years. Yeah speaker-2: Yeah, mean social media today, everyone thinks it's a quick, quick fix. And you're a celebrity or rich or something. Consistency is huge. speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah, it's behind the scenes stuff. And love the quote, don't love the quarterback, but that's okay. ⁓ speaker-1: bills. speaker-2: Between the pagula comments and the bills, we could go on a deep rabbit hole. We'll be careful here. speaker-0: We'll be careful. speaker-1: Yeah, shouldn't have quoted Tom Brady on Racha's podcast. speaker-0: Go Bills. Yeah, go Bills. ⁓ Don't get C started on the Bills right now. All right, so to wrap up this first section, Casey, what advice would you give to professionals looking to build a long-term career within a larger organization? speaker-1: Yeah, I think the opportunities are endless when you're working at a large organization. There's different dynamics versus working with a small business. They operate different, but if you're willing to work hard and put in the time, I think, as I said, the opportunities are endless. There's jobs at JP Morgan and finance, legal. sales and trading, asset management, trust, marketing. There's jobs globally in every kind of background that you can imagine. I don't have the exact stat, but the number of tech employees that we have is astounding. I think working for a large global organization provides a lot of opportunity. going back to what I was saying earlier, I think being curious, just continuing to have the drive to learn and fight complacency and be better than you were yesterday. think large organizations kind of value that and you'll succeed over the longterm. speaker-0: Let me ask a little tangent. With RIT and U of R locally, have you found that you're able to tap into that talent from the local Rochester community perspective and bring them into JPMorgan? speaker-1: Yes, we do. our team, local, is mostly Rochester, born and raised, living in the community, just deep roots, local. We're lucky to have such great educational institutions locally. I'm actually meeting with RIT on Friday. have my MBA from RIT, so I'm still active. We've had some students come through for mentoring and meeting ⁓ regarding our analyst and associate programs. So there's definitely a large amount of talent locally that we're able to tap into, whether it be for a job in Rochester or a job globally throughout JPMorgan. speaker-2: Yeah, I wanted to touch on two things before we move on. One, something that you said that I, it resonates with me, but I don't think it really resonated with me until I got older, knew that there was possibility that I'd be acquiring a company. But I think people in your industry are probably better than any other industry, and that's just keeping up with the news every single day, keeping up with what's going on and just being educated with the world. I think that's underestimated, especially in today's day and age where you don't need five, 10 different newspaper subscriptions, you literally can find anything on the internet. But I think for the younger generation, advice is get, know what's going on a day-to-day basis. It's so easy to be informed and it helps you inform your day-to-day, especially career-wise. So that's a good one. Number two, before we move on to the next topics, which is specifically commercial banking, I think it'd be good for everyone to kind of get a layout of JPMC. So I think a lot of people think JPMC and they think Manhattan, London, big markets, trading floors, ⁓ investment banking, and then they think credit card retail banking. Go down the street, go to my ATM or use a credit card. ⁓ In Rochester, primarily, is it the retail, which I was talking about with the credit cards and banking? And then you have what you're going to discuss, commercial, which is working with local and statewide companies as customers that bank with you. And then the third would be wealth. Are those the three primary, I don't want to call them divisions, but product types that are in a city like Rochester? speaker-1: Yeah, that's pretty, pretty spot on. So locally we have 23 retail locations, I believe over 300 employees. we ⁓ serve middle market clients ⁓ and we also have a government ed nonprofit team as So. Is part of my organization. So where we work with. ⁓ speaker-2: rolls into is speaker-1: Corporates, that team works with cities, school districts, counties, state governments. We also have a community development banking team, which does tax credit lending, historical redevelopments. speaker-2: make sense. speaker-0: So Casey, you work with businesses across Rochester, just kind of like you just touched on to ensure they have access to the financial tools and resources that they need to grow, similar to how you work with WillMac. So how does a business determine when the right time is to engage with someone like you, a commercial banker? speaker-1: Yeah, I would say that I think it's important for businesses to have strong relationships with their bank and financial institution. We help our clients share that and, you know, every company does as well. think the earlier you can engage with a commercial banker, the better. I think it's important to. build a relationship, build trust with the individual, allow someone on my team to fully understand the business operations. Who are your suppliers? Who are your customers? What challenges is the business facing? What's the long-term strategy for the business? Do you have kids in the business? Is there succession planning? Is there no succession planning? Are you looking to... sell the business at some point. Do you want to explore an ESOP? Are there challenges with board governance? Is there industry research we could be helpful with? So really it's important to get engaged and have dialogue prior to an event occurring where then our team has to get up to speed extremely quickly. ⁓ try and understand all of those aspects I just spoke about and see how we could help. So I think sooner the better is the standard preference. speaker-0: Right, and you talked about a lot of different avenues that you have to get up to speed on in order to help them make those educated decisions and advise them. Actually, you touched on it a little bit, but can you hit on it again? What are the types of services that you can help these businesses with beyond your traditional banking? speaker-1: Yeah, so I had a client once tell me that the blocking and tackling of transactions and things like that, expect it. They expect that we're going to do those right. And when many people think of a commercial bank or a corporate bank, it's lending, which is very important to business owners and transactions. I think where we add a lot of value is various products that were able to help businesses operate more efficiently. So whether you're investing in a new ERP system, know, we have tech built out with APIs where our JP Morgan platform can communicate directly with your ERP system and create ⁓ efficiencies within your treasury function. We have a lot of clients buying and selling overseas. So how are you thinking about the foreign exchange risk? And maybe you buy everything in dollars, but if the dollar strengthens or the dollar weakens, how are you thinking about that and managing those exposures? I think we also have a large international banking presence. So if you're expanding internationally, you're making an acquisition overseas, you need letters of credit. Those are areas where we're able to provide expertise locally through our team. Commodities hedging we also have a broad array of industry specialists so we have ⁓ media team infrastructure beverage banking beauty heavy equipment so we have Specialists who support our local banking team to ensure that we understand the markets that we're serving speaker-2: Yeah, I mean, I'll piggyback on a couple things Casey is speaking about that has helped Willmack quite a bit. we have a Canadian entity. There's not many banks out there that can handle international, so they have the capabilities of helping us out with our Canadian and U.S. And then the specialists. Really, one of the big things for us is we've moved from your typical reseller, ⁓ perpetual model licenses, which is pretty fairly simple banking. we've went into the SaaS world, which is a little bit more difficult. ⁓ our local team has been able to introduce us to their counterparts down in Manhattan who specialize in SaaS or specialize in going out to look at investment companies that look at organizations like WillMac if we ever did need to take capital, private equity or growth equity. So we've been able to take advantage of that. ⁓ I've noticed, which is great, and I think you were going to get into this question next, so I don't want to steal your thunder here. But for being such a large organization, it's pretty you guys know how to navigate it very easily, get to the right people. ⁓ You don't feel like – we don't feel like we're swimming around trying to find the right people. Normally, it takes one or two calls and, ⁓ hey, you guys are trying to figure out some ways to do your taxes with SAS. All right. These guys are specialists in that. So that's been great. And that's probably atypical for large organizations from our standpoint as a customer. speaker-1: It's one of the nice things, like specific to international banking, is my team in Rochester manages the relationship and we have colleagues in cities across the globe and their sole responsibility is to support our customers. So it's not a handoff to, you know, here's so and so they can help you out. It's our relationship. We manage it and we have partners globally and experts globally. who are there to support our clients grow internationally or grow in looking for growth capital or expanding in the new industries, et cetera. speaker-0: Right. Let me ask, so obviously JP Morgan, we talked about it well known globally. Do feel like that offers an advantage when you come into the local setting to have that credibility behind you? speaker-1: JP the brand, we've been around for hundreds of years ⁓ and we have great expertise. ⁓ think the benefit for our ⁓ is ⁓ the team is all born raised individuals. We're active in the community. ⁓ We're coaching sports ⁓ with our and meeting their and we're really ingrained in the community. ⁓ with that, we have JP Morgan and the global presence behind us to deliver to companies in Western New York to help their business grow and fuel the economy. speaker-2: Yeah, so when we're just giving it from our experience, we're looking at banks, we look at local banks and global banks, we're in a unique situation because the type of company we're at. So it made sense for us to work with a large bank like you guys. But I think one of the things that made it easier is that we... knew one way or the other pretty much your entire team. And now it was pretty quick. We didn't even know a lot of people on the private side. So I think that makes it more comfortable. And you guys are well-known, like individually well-known around Rochester. Yeah, because I think that's where the comfort goes for a smaller company trying to work with a huge bank, being like, well, is there going to be turnover? Or we don't know these guys that well. I think that makes a huge difference that you guys are a very stable bunch on your team. speaker-1: Yeah, and I also think you have the corporate brand and in smaller cities like Rochester, you also have your personal brand, right? And I think the tenure of our, I've been there 18 years, 19 years, and most everyone on our team has 15 years plus and have been at the institution for a long time. Same with our private bank, a of them, a lot of that team is well tenured. To Steve's point, it's the brand of the institution, it's also the brand of the individual which... speaker-2: Is that locally? Because I don't feel like that in your world, people staying at one bank is very normal. I feel like a lot of them bounce around for career aspirations or whatever it may be. But now that you've said that out loud, the three of you guys that we know well have all been there for quite some time. speaker-1: I think it's a testament to JP Morgan as an institution, our culture as a team, the opportunity which individuals are provided for continued growth. So, you know, we're all very proud to have the tenure that we have. speaker-0: And I mean, I was about to say calling out a very specific example, but best companies to work for in New York the past few years when we participated in it and gone to Albany every time we see Eric in faith. And like, hey guys, how you doing? Like, I just think it also speaks to that culture component that you called out that you've in this Rochester office, or ⁓ this Rochester market. staying on that same thread and moving more into our local community here. So you work closely, obviously, with businesses in Rochester and across Western New York. And from your point of view, what stands out to you about this business community? Like what has kept you here? speaker-1: Yeah. So I think the Rochester and Western New York business community has shifted over the last hundred years prior to my role at the institution. As we said before, there was a lot of large corporates which drove the economy. There were tens of thousands of employees at Xerox, Kodak, Bausch & Lomb. There's been a shift to a lot of those employees from those organizations started their own own businesses, there's large optics, ⁓ presence. So it has become more of a true small and medium sized economy. what I've found is business leaders locally are resilient. I don't believe we have the peaks and troughs that other metropolitan areas do through the economy. but we have a stable economy with leaders ⁓ and a strong community aspects where leaders come together ⁓ solve problems and ⁓ really drive the local economy. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-2: Do you have any thoughts on why we don't? So, agree, very stable economy, but we don't have the growth of some others and we don't have the startups, really, of others. And you guys would be a organization that would probably benefit and be able to help that. as we're, you know, an AI organization, we don't see very many or companies like us popping up in Rochester. ⁓ And not to put you on the spot, but do you have any opinion on why? We don't see it as much, especially with an RIT and U of R sitting right there. speaker-1: Well, I do think there's some optimism with Micron just breaking ground and the One Rock with Joe Stefko, the work they're doing. there are there is a lot of advanced manufacturing locally, which I think if Micron builds out to expectations, there will be downstream supply benefits for a lot of the advanced manufacturing. I think our local speaker-2: That's exciting. speaker-1: Business organizations work very hard to attract companies. think there's different incentives to open and operate businesses in different places. And we're just always competing to make Rochester the home for that. speaker-0: Yeah, and speaking kind of in a similar vein, Steve, as to what you're talking about, ⁓ Casey, you and Steve both serve on the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce board, like I called out in your intro. What has that sort of experience been like? What has it exposed you to? Like we had Vini Esposito on here and he talked about just Joseph Goh and One Rock. So what has that experience been like being on that board? speaker-1: Yeah, it's been very rewarding to work alongside other passionate business leaders. I think the board operates as a strategic group of folks identifying economic hurdles, legislative hurdles, and pulling together with the leadership of Bob Duffy, who's doing a fantastic job at finding solutions to real problems that the local businesses and economy are facing. So I think it has opened my eyes up to outside of financial hurdles that companies have or how we may be able to help. There's areas where the board comes together to really drive the Finger Lakes economy in the right direction. So it's been refreshing to work alongside. local leaders like Steve and just be a part of the conversation. speaker-0: Yeah, I love that. I guess in a similar vein when it comes to applying to your day-to-day work, like are the people, the leaders that you're working with on the chamber, outside of that your clients, like what kind of themes come up in your conversations with them speaking from the commercial banking side? speaker-1: Yeah, so we do an annual business leaders outlook survey. I think one of the general themes was optimism was high coming off the 24 election and businesses and individuals were hopeful for regulatory relief and pro-business climate. If you took the same survey mid-year of last year post-liberation day, the business outlook and confidence sank. And at year end, the outlook and optimism had actually returned to the same levels as post-24 election. So I think there is optimism in Rochester, New York. The numbers were actually slightly higher than the national average. There are still challenges with implementing AI and how to leverage it and talent attraction and the regulatory environment and supply chain and navigating tariffs. But as I said before, I do believe that business leaders in the Rochester and Western New York community are very resilient and when there's a challenge to their business, they work hard to figure out a solution to it. speaker-0: Yeah. Do you feel similarly, Steve, coming from that business leader perspective? speaker-2: Yeah, I mean, I fill out those surveys. ⁓ No, I'm mostly optimistic. I think we live in New York state, so it's going to be difficult no matter what unless some things change. But overall, I feel pretty optimistic about where we are. I know it might have plummeted a little, but I'm still feeling good. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: You know, as we invest heavily in technology, a lot of it is around how we're able to help our clients operate more efficiently. Part of that business leaders outlook survey that I mentioned, business leaders are expecting to, most middle market clients are expecting to deploy AI into their business, whether it be process automation, predictive analytics, market intelligence. I think AI is the worst. ⁓ today as it'll ever be into the future. And businesses have to be dynamic and identify ways where they can incorporate it into their day-to-day operations to create efficiencies and help grow their margins and productivity. speaker-0: And I think you just spoke to the extensiveness of different AI use cases, like the efficiency of your day-to-day work. So yeah, really impressive. All right. So Casey, as we start to wrap up, ⁓ we'll kind of it back to Rochester. Like what do you think you and large institutions like JPMorgan Chase play in supporting ⁓ regional economic growth? ⁓ speaker-1: Yeah, I truly believe that ⁓ we play a vital role in supporting the local community. As I said, all of us live here, play here, and are fully vested in the community. And we have the ability to deliver the global resources and expertise of JPMorgan to help local businesses and community organizations really. you know, make Rochester a better place to live and start a business. So we take that seriously and we work very hard to leverage those resources and deploy them as best we can. You know, whether it's helping a business, helping our business owners or other individuals on the personal or private bank side, that's an important piece as well. The community engagement of our entire team. We spend between the 300 plus employees in Rochester, there's a lot of community involvement. You know, we mentioned Big Brothers, Big Sisters, I'm an Emeritus Board member there now. I'm active with the Chamber. We do events with Junior Achievement. Everyone on the team is on multiple boards. We're active with SBC CARES, which I know you guys are as well. So I think the... greater effects of the involvement of our team in the local community make an impact. speaker-0: Love it. Steve, do you have any final questions for Casey before I wrap us up? speaker-2: No, no, I appreciate the time. I think we've had a great relationship with JPMC. think being such a large company in a small community, as Casey said, they're very local, but still have the quick phone call to the big JPMC down in Manhattan or where you have to go. So I think that's huge, and I think a lot of companies can take advantage of that and get help up here. speaker-0: Definitely. All right, Casey, are there any initiatives or programs at JPMorgan Chase that you'd like to share about? Gwenda, sign up for Corporate Challenge. speaker-1: Yeah, I would say I'm super proud of our team and the work we're doing to support businesses. know, if you're a business owner, a founder, you have a startup idea, we have small business consulting, we have resources to help individuals. So as I mentioned before, it's never too early to reach out and our team is always eager to help and be supportive. Appreciate the corporate challenge plug. It's right around the corner. It is. May 21st is 7.15 PM. It's always a fantastic night to compete in a friendly manner with your colleagues and get out there three and a half miles. We always look forward to it. And it's a great evening out with the local business community in downtown. Oh yeah. It was a little wet last night, but I think it's better than a 90 and sunny day. speaker-0: You're only first. speaker-2: our fingers for good weather. speaker-0: is for sure. All right, thanks Casey. So to our listeners, you can find Casey Fitzgerald on LinkedIn and connect with him. And you can also learn more at jpmorganchase.com slash commercial banking if you're interested in anything that Casey mentioned. Casey, thanks again for joining us on the Will MacWire. speaker-1: Thank you. speaker-2: Thanks Casey. speaker-0: Thank you for listening to the WillMac Wire. If you liked today's conversation, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or watch full episodes on our YouTube channel. You can also learn more about WillMac technologies and our work in customer interaction technology at WillMacTech.com. We'll be back soon with more conversations with the drivers, those shaping our industry and those building right here in Western New York. See you next time.