Early Career Chats is a new interview series run by MMAC Communications Intern Elena Fowle. Elena sits down with early- to mid-career members to hear about their career journeys, professional growth and involvement at MMAC.
MMAC’s first interviewee was Anthony Aziere from Associated Bank. Continue reading for the full Q&A.
Q: Introduce yourself, your name, your company, your role, and then just give a general description of what you do.
A: Hi, my name is Anthony Aziere. I’m a Business Banking Relationship Manager at Associated Bank. I work with business owners like manufacturers, distributors, contractors, and help them with any of their banking and financing needs.
Q: Could you give a brief summary of how you ended up in that role, what your journey was like, and what is keeping you in your industry or role?
A: I graduated four years ago from St. Norbert College. I started in the Credit Developmental program, and after that, I became a Portfolio Manager. I did that for about three years, and I found myself getting bored just sitting behind a screen, typing away at my computer. So, I decided to be more into a client-facing role, which is how I got into this role as a Relationship Manager.
Q: How long have you been involved at MMAC?
A: I’ve only been involved in MMAC for a couple of months now. I started off not really knowing too many business professionals in the community. An acquaintance of mine mentioned that MMAC was a great opportunity to branch out and meet new professionals. So, I gave it a shot, and I found my people.
Q: What is your favorite MMAC event or memory at an MMAC event?
A: I would say my favorite event was at Rely Manufacturing. We went out there, and we got a whole tour of the factory, and there were a ton of business owners. I got to meet a ton of new connections and great people along the way.
Q: What do you feel is the greatest benefit that you’ve gotten out of being involved at MMAC?
A: The greatest benefit that I’ve gotten out of MMAC is meeting great people in the community.
Q: What’s one piece of advice that you would give to other early or mid-career professionals?
A: I would say one piece of advice that I could give to early professionals is “don’t say no to anything.” Opportunity is key, and if you’re in the right place at the right time, you never know what could come out of it.
