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Patrick Sobers

New Position: President, Hillsborough County, Bank of America, Tampa. Previous Position: Southeast sales manager, Premiere Banking, Tampa

By FRED W. WRIGHT JR.
Published April 4, 2005

Since February, Patrick Sobers has been juggling two management positions at Bank of America. He's continuing his role as Southeast sales manager for the bank's Premiere Banking, and he also is president of its Hillsborough County territory.

"In essence, I carry two hats," he said. Wearing his new hat, Sobers said, requires him to ensure the bank "delivers all its lines of business" to all customers every day throughout Hillsborough County, with more than 42 offices and about 3,500 employees.

Wearing his Premiere hat, he oversees managers and the sales force in 12 markets across Florida and Georgia, focusing on clients with assets of $100,000 or more with Bank of America. "We give them soup to nuts," he said, "taking care of traditional bank products like deposits and loans, but also offering financial advice around education planning and retirement planning."

As a result, Sobers said his workweek is busy, with at least one day out of five on the road in Florida or Georgia. "I do use the telephone a lot," he said, "but I do believe it's important to have that face-to-face touch with people. I don't like to be someone 40 hours a week sitting behind a desk."

Another key to banking management success, he said, is to "treat clients the way you want to be treated. The key is do it every day with every client."

A native of Boston, Sobers earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Boston University in 1981. While in college, he began to work in the hospital industry, initially as a financial administrator in the department of medicine at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. He stayed there until 1982.

Following a particularly snowy winter in Boston, Sobers said he sought out a management position in Florida, joining SunTrust Bank in Orlando in 1983 as a commercial banking officer. He joined Bank of America in Orlando in 1986, was reassigned to Jacksonville, then to Tampa in 2000 as Premiere Banking market manager for the five-county Tampa Bay area, and later became Southeast sales manager.

Though he has been in banking for more than 20 years, Sobers said he still looks forward to each day.

"One of the things I've always wanted to do and been able to do . . . is to help people," he said. "I enjoy being with people. I enjoy interacting with people. I like helping people realize their dreams. That's why I kind of got into banking."

Sobers, 47, said he enjoys life in general. "I'm thankful I'm here to see another day," he said. "Right off the bat, I'm a happy person (and) I like a challenge. I've always liked a challenge."

Sobers is also on the board of directors of Moffitt Cancer Center.

He and his wife, Sharon, have two children and live in Tampa. They like to travel, Sobers said. One week each year is just for him and his wife; they also take two weeks with the children. This year, they plan their one week in the Caribbean and their two in Greece, he said.

[Last modified April 2, 2005, 21:14:02]