Brad Smith | June Zeplin | Sharon Sokol
Mr. Smith has spent the last 16 years helping community financial institutions make the right technology decisions and get the most from their technology resources. He is co-founder and President of Abound Resources, which is the leading advisory firm in helping community financial institutions make the right technology decisions. Abound guides community financial institution executives through the technology selection and vendor performance management process. Mr. Smith believes in the value of community financial institutions and has created a business model to support the industry by offering greater flexibility and affordability in the services Abound provides and the willingness to guarantee their services.
After years consulting for banks ranging in size from de novo's to $25B institutions, Brad decided to find a way to offer technology advice and support to community financial institutions that addresses the unique needs of these organization. Recognizing that the traditional consulting model typically doesn't work well for community financial institutions, Mr. Smith spent over two years researching, testing, and designing a suitable model with over 25 banks, trade association professionals, and professors participating. The result is a business model that combines advisory services and web-based products, offering community financial institutions greater flexibility, options, and unique approaches to making the right technology decisions.
Prior to co-founding Abound Resources, Brad led the community bank technology consulting practice for Deloitte & Touche and consulted with financial institutions all over the country and the Caribbean. As a consultant, he has served as project leader on over 200 high-visibility bank technology projects including technology planning, system design, vendor selection, system implementation, merger integration, profitability analysis, and process improvement. He has also acted as lead negotiator representing community banks on nearly 85 software, hardware and outsourcing contracts valued at $40 million, and he consistently achieves savings of nearly 30% for his customers.
Mr. Smith is a consummate advocate of community financial institutions and is a frequent speaker at state, regional and national trade associations. Recently, he was chosen by the Independent Bankers Association (IBAT) as the consultant to lead their association through the process for CRM vendor endorsement. He has been quoted in numerous industry publications including American Banker, Bank Accounting and Finance, Bank News Magazine, Bank Technology News, Independent Banker Magazine, Microbanker and US Banker and has appeared on business talk radio advocating the value and services of community banking. Brad is a graduate of the University of Texas with a degree in finance and a minor concentration in accounting.
