May 30, 2016
UMV: 190,677
When One Banking Executive Hit Rock Bottom
BY JENNIFER LECLAIRE
 MIAMI—And by rock bottom, we’re not talking about a commercial real estate bust.
MIAMI—Marti Mang, a senior
vice president in TotalBank’s
corporate lending division, made
a way out of no way. All the odds
were against her becoming a
banking executive but she
persevered and learned some
valuable lessons she can now
share with others.
Marti Mang, a senior vice president in TotalBank’s corporate lending
division, to ask her about the changes she’s witnessed in the field.
GlobeSt.com caught up with
Mang to hear more of her story
and the power of mentors in part
two of this exclusive interview.
You can still read part one: CRE
Women, You’ve Come A Long
Way, Baby.
Globest.com: Given that job satisfaction for women is lower because of work-life balance,
how did you as a mother then and now find that balance?
Mang: I did not have a choice. My marriage fell apart and my husband had to go through
rehabilitation and was not providing any support. I had four children who were depending on
me and so I was it.
For a while I had to work three jobs to make ends meet as we were suddenly thrown below the
poverty level for a family of five and even applied for food stamps. But I knew we were not
going to be there long as I was very determined to succeed.
Page 2
With all of that going one, work-life balance was not even a part of the equation. Now that my
children are grown and unfortunately, all live out of town, I take time to be a part of a book
club, which reads a book each month, play golf and volunteer in prison ministry.
The most important aspect of balance for me is to make a little time for myself, which I call
“me time.” It is about one hour per day and I am currently taking an online class in increasing
mindfulness, chatting with other students and taking some time to meditate, journal, express
gratitude, reflect and pray.
Globest.com: Mentors are important in helping women advance, what’s helped you in your
career?
Mang: Early on in my career I had a wonderful mentor who later became the chairman of the
board for Frontier Airlines. At that time, I was working as a bank examiner and she coached me
to become an expert in at least one or two areas of my job and to have the most knowledge in
these areas.
When the time came to downsize our team because we were being absorbed by the largest
holding company I survived the cut because I had the most knowledge in two of the key areas,
real estate and investment securities.
Our office was in the same building as a large bond brokerage and I made it a point to get to
know some of the brokers and asked them to train me on what they looked for in spotting a
good investment. Some of our client banks had purchased local investment securities that did
not seem to match the criteria and I spoke to them about selling those investments. Later there
was a payment default and some of the bondholders took a loss.