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Eyes
on the Prize
Jim
Hyler steps in to lead NCCBI at a time when both the state and the association
need his financial acumen
By Lawrence Bivens
Exploring the world of Jim Hyler requires shedding
the traditional stuffy images of a banking executive. The casual, but
professional, corridors of Raleigh’s First
Citizens Bank headquarters are anything but a haven of dark pinstripes.
Offices are attractive and functional, not grand or intimidating. Far from the
downtown high-rises, the company’s administrative operations are directed from
the leafy, laid-back Highwoods area in North Raleigh
It all fits nicely with the image of Hyler himself: calm, unpretentious, forward
thinking. Those qualities and others are sure to be on display in the coming
year as Hyler, vice chairman and chief operating officer of First Citizen
BancShares Inc., takes on a new mission as NCCBI’s chairman.
“Jim takes over at a critical time for North Carolina,” says Gordon Myers,
Hyler’s predecessor at NCCBI, referring to the state’s weakened economy and
current budget woes. “But I think his financial acumen, experience in banking
and active involvement in the community are just what we need, and I wish him
well.”
The coming year is certain to be an eventful one for Hyler and NCCBI. The
business community’s leadership will be central to ushering North Carolina out
of recession and fiscal turmoil. Gov. Mike Easley recognized the key role NCCBI
will play in economic recovery by appointing Hyler as chairman of the new state
Commission to Promote Government Efficiency, the blue-ribbon panel that will
examine all aspects of state government and recommend ways to make state tax
dollars go further.
Hyler said those economic challenges will largely comprise his goals for NCCBI
during his year at the helm of the association. His hope and intention is to
promote business interests and be a strong advocate for economic growth in the
General Assembly. “Times have changed, our state’s economic base has
changed. We need to understand these changes and their effects on our state from
a government and business perspective. Due to the budget shortfall, the upcoming
session of the General Assembly will be contentious. NCCBI must be there to
protect and promote business interests.”
Hyler also anticipates the added challenge of monitoring state and federal
post-Enron regulations. “We’re in a different environment than we were in
even a year ago,” says Hyler. “The fallout from Enron could be significant
to business, and NCCBI will need to focus on its role as a advocate for business
interests both in Raleigh and Washington, D.C.”
He suspects there will be new regulations for 401(k) plans and new disclosure
requirements for financial statements. Accounting firms will face added
scrutiny. But he fears the current climate will prompt some politicians to begin
delving into business issues that are unrelated to the collapse of the Houston
energy firm. “There’s been quite a rush to judgement,” says Hyler, who
believes the criminal and civil courts should be allowed to sort out the
allegations of impropriety before new burdens on business are designed. “There
should be some tweaking of the system, but we don’t need a massive increase in
new regulation.”
Hyler emphasized he wants to hear from members about their views of how the
association is doing.
Life began for James B. Hyler Jr., on Dec. 13, 1947, in Danville, Va. The only
son of a tobacco farmer, Hyler learned the value of hard work growing up on the
family’s Pittsylvania County farm. At that time, farming the crop involved two
primary tools: mules and human hands, he recalls. “Tobacco was people’s
livelihoods then.” While he decided against following in his father’s
footsteps, Hyler cherishes the memory of his rural roots. “Growing up on the
farm was an incredible experience.”
But a larger world clearly beckoned, and Hyler arrived at Virginia Tech in 1966.
The first in his family to go to college, he thought he might pursue studies in
engineering. “I soon figured out I wasn’t inclined to be an engineer,” he
says, enrolling instead in the college of business, where he studied accounting
and witnessed a changing environment on campus as controversy over the Vietnam
War erupted. “People think of Virginia Tech as being a quiet land-grant
university in the hills, but it became very active.” Tension on campus boiled
over during his senior year, when students seized a university building in
response to the tragedy at Kent State. “I was studying for the CPA exam by
that point and had just joined the National Guard.” The experience left an
impact on Hyler, who began thinking seriously about matters such as leadership
and community service.
Accounting degree in hand, Hyler left Virginia Tech for Winston-Salem in 1970,
having been recruited by the public accounting firm of Ernst & Ernst as a
bank auditor. The company would later become part of Ernst & Young, the
global professional services giant. He went on to spend a decade with the
company in Winston-Salem, focusing much of his attention on performing audits of
Wachovia Bank. “Technology was in its true infancy then,” he recalls.
Other differences separate the banking world of three decades ago from the one
Hyler leads today. “In the early 1970s, banking was heavily regulated in terms
of price and products,” he says. “The government determined how and where
you could do business.” That would slowly change, beginning with the
Reagan-era regulatory reforms that allowed markets to set terms for some loans
and on all deposits. The deregulation drive later culminated in the removal of
geographical and functional barriers across the financial services industry.
“It led to the truly national franchises of today,” Hyler explains, “and
it opened up new business opportunities that banks can now pursue.”
Hyler made the leap from Ernst & Young to First Citizens in 1980 as the
bank’s chief financial officer. He became president in 1988, and was elevated
to his current position in 1993. In his tenure, Hyler has helped the bank
multiply its assets from $1.2 billion to the nearly $12 billion it boasts today.
Founded in 1898, First Citizens operates 348 branches across North Carolina,
Virginia and West Virginia. In April 1997, the company established Atlantic
States Bank as a wholly-owned subsidiary based in suburban Atlanta. Atlantic
States has 44 branch offices in Georgia and Florida. Other First Citizens units
include insurance, credit cards and investor services. In all areas, the closely
held company maintains a commitment to serving individual customers and small to
medium-sized businesses.
“We’ve enjoyed a lot of success under Jim’s leadership,” says First
Citizens President Frank Holding Jr. “He’s highly organized, energetic and
direct — and that’s been contagious. The company’s benefited greatly from
those qualities.”
First Citizens is also serious about its larger role in the community, another
corporate value that Hyler embodies. His own public service activities run the
gamut from arts councils to youth groups, and they include terms on the boards
of state, local and regional organizations. “My particular interests have been
healthcare, economic development and sports,” Hyler says.
He currently chairs the board of trustees of Rex Healthcare and is vice chairman
of the UNC Health Care System’s board. “The involvement of business leaders
in the governance of healthcare institutions is very important,” he says.
In 1999, he completed an eight-year run on the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority.
It included a term as chairman in 1994-95, a key period as the airport struggled
to maintain its prominence after the dismantling of the American Airlines hub.
“American Airline’s pullout was traumatic at the time, but it gave the
airport an opportunity to recruit other carriers to fill the void and introduce
more competition,” says Hyler, who believes high-quality passenger air service
is a requisite to building a strong business environment. Hyler had also been
active in helping the airport score a direct flight to London, which helped
connect the state — and its banking interests — with Europe’s most
important financial center. Non-stop service to London also cemented the
Research Triangle’s international standing, he believes.
“Jim is one of those people who is an ideal board member — intelligent and
intuitive,” says John Brantley, director of the Raleigh-Durham Airport. “He
was a voice of calm during the storm” during the difficult period when the
airport was dealing with American’s departure. Amid fear that RDU would be
relegated to second-rate status, Hyler reasoned that the Triangle’s appeal
would not be diminished by one airline’s business decision. “He said, ‘If
we keep focused, we can survive this and do even better,’ ” Brantley
recalls. “He was clearly proven right.”
Brantley admires Hyler’s capacity to survey a situation, quickly assess what
is needed, gather resources and formulate a solution. “He has the ability to
grasp things quickly,” Brantley says. But that leadership doesn’t mean
shutting down those who don’t agree. “Even in a divided forum, Jim can keep
things in order and keep the process moving forward without slamming the door on
other people’s viewpoints.”
Whatever the challenge, Hyler’s management style is regarded as one that
encourages excellence. “He allows a lot of autonomy,” explains Frank
Holding, “but he has high standards. He’s not afraid to get engaged, when
needed.” It is a supportive philosophy that allows those around him to rise to
their potential. “Jim has a real thirst for knowledge and growth, and he loves
to see that in others,” Holding says.
Charles Hayes agrees. It was during Hyler’s chairmanship of the Research
Triangle Regional Partnership (RTRP) during the mid-1990s that Hayes was brought
on to lead the fledgling organization, which coordinates global marketing across
a 13-county area. “Jim was the ideal chairman for us at that time,” Hayes
says. “We were basically a start-up company then.”
Hayes sums up Hyler’s executive approach as one that identifies quality
people, issues a clear charge and then unleashes them to get the job done.
“His philosophy can be summed up in three words: ‘Just do it,’ ” Hayes
says.
Regional approaches to economic development and problem solving are another area
where Hyler’s leadership has made a difference. “It’s vitally important
that we market as a region,” Hyler says. The solution is analogous to a
shopping center: Just as small retailers bind together to become more noticeable
to customers, communities must be seen as part of a larger, unified business
destination in order to compete for new industry. “I take the view that
what’s good for Durham is good for Raleigh, and what’s good for Warren
County, for example, is also good for Chatham County,” explains Hyler.
More recently, Hyler’s devotion to economic development has manifested itself
as a board member of the North Carolina Rural Center. The center plays an
important role in bringing diverse voices to the table when it comes to
spreading prosperity to less wealthy communities. He is encouraged by the
center’s leadership in extending high-speed Internet capacity to rural users,
a move he believes is key to attracting new jobs. “Infrastructure needs are
quite different today than they were 20 years ago,” Hyler says. “If you
don’t provide Internet access to every community, you leave people behind.”
Hyler’s term as NCCBI chairman will coincide with his leadership of another
important state body. Earlier this year, Gov. Mike Easley tapped Hyler to chair
his Commission to Promote Government Efficiency, which has begun examining
solutions for improving the delivery of government services. The panel is
charged with issuing a preliminary set of recommendations in time for this
summer’s General Assembly session, along with a more extensive list by the end
of 2002. “Everything’s on the table,” Hyler explains. “We can’t
address everything in nine months, but we can get to some low-hanging fruit.”
There are, of course, other roles for Hyler well beyond the bank or boardroom.
They center primarily around his wife Natalie, who performs and teaches music.
And though his father is deceased, Hyler stays in regular contact with his
mother, now 82, back in Danville, and a younger sister, who resides in Richmond.
Also close to him are his two children: Lori, 28, a human resources manager who
lives with her husband in Wake Forest, and Brad, 23, a commercial real estate
professional in Charlotte.
There is yet another venue for Hyler’s leadership skills: the golf course. An
excellent golfer, he drew the game into his service to the state through his
chairmanship of the President’s Council of the 1999 U.S. Open, a high-level
panel that harnessed business involvement in support of the event. “The U.S.
Open was probably the biggest sporting event for the state, and that was
exposure you can’t buy,” he says. It is a responsibility Hyler has resumed
in preparation for the championship’s return to Pinehurst in 2005.
As to whether there will be room for his true passion during what looks to be a
crowded calendar over the coming year, Hyler smiles confidently. “Oh,
there’s always time for golf.”
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