Wisconsin Bank CEO Jim Popp Advocates For Human Touch As Tech Grows

Amid the widespread growth of financial technology, President and CEO of Johnson Financial Group Jim Popp emphasized the need to remain human-first.

Watch the full conversation here. 

“I think all of that type of technology is going to give us an opportunity to get better and faster and smarter as long as we stay human in it, as well,” Popp said in conversation with Mark Richardson Thursday at Cap Times Power Hour, a quarterly event series that features leaders of major Wisconsin companies.

Though Popp acknowledged a rise in the popularity of digital-only banks and cryptocurrencies in recent years, he reaffirmed his belief that “branch banking is not dead.”

“I think banking will always be a face-to-face business at some level,” he said.

For Popp, it’s all about finding ways to modernize banking through new technologies like artificial intelligence while still having humans at the helm to decide how to most effectively incorporate the technology.

“We're figuring out how embedded AI and (how) embedded technology is going to work for us. I would say every company is figuring it out in real time and deciding how much they rely on it or how much they don't. It's going to be that way for a long time, I think,” Popp said.

He stressed the importance of straddling a balance between serving older generations of longtime customers with more traditional, face-to-face services and serving younger generations of new customers with digital-forward technology.

“We can't alienate the group that's still turning the lights on for us, but we have to have the right stuff for the group that is going to turn it on for us going forward. We got to do both, and we're doing both. It just is a constant cycle,” Popp said.

Branch banking gives customers a customized, in-depth experience when they are in need of financial advice, according to Popp. He recommended walking into a local bank or credit union to explore investing options, in response to an audience question.

“We have investment professionals whose job it is to give you options and … help you figure out what your plan is and help you figure out how to get from where you are today to where you want to be in the future,” Popp said.

People are always top of mind for Popp, who said that even when the market and interest rates can be unpredictable and ever-changing, what should remain consistent is fair treatment of the individuals and groups that keep his company running.

“Where we fall off is if we don't treat people the way that we want to treat them. That's our customers, it's our associates, and it's the communities where we do business,” Popp said.

From football to finance

Headquartered in Racine, Johnson Financial Group is a privately-owned community banking and wealth business with 870 employees across 32 branches in Wisconsin.

“We don’t aspire to be in 10 states. We like where we are, and we like the footprint we’re in,” Popp said.

The organization traces its humble roots back to 1970 when its founder, Samuel C. Johnson, started the bank out of a trailer.

“(Johnson was) a very community-minded guy. He felt like there was a need for a bank that was bigger than the smallest banks, and the big banks were taking over the street corners, and so he bought a double wide, got a bank charter and started a bank,” Popp said in an interview after the Power Hour event.

Popp joined Johnson in 2017 as president of the organization, then became both president and chief executive officer the following year. Preceding his arrival at Johnson was a three-decade career in commercial banking at J.P. Morgan Chase and a brief stint in the NFL.

The Libertyville, Illinois, native was an eighth-round draft pick to the San Francisco 49ers in 1986, recruited from Vanderbilt University where he played tight end.

“I probably played as much pro football as most of you in the room, but it's part of my story,” he joked at Cap Times Power Hour.

From football, Popp learned the important lesson of showing up — a lesson that still rings true to him today as a C-suite executive.

“There's no formula for success in most things you do other than showing up and working hard and doing things you're supposed to do. There's no shortcut to do so, and a football team is a pretty efficient place. The best players play. Business is a pretty efficient place. People show up and work hard and do the things they're supposed to do every day,” Popp said in an interview.

Popp emphasized it doesn’t matter where someone shows up in a company but that they are taking the initiative to get their foot in the door and do the work, even if it’s work they might not yet love.

“That's the biggest lesson. … Even as technology continues to go and go and go, the fundamentals of showing up and working hard and preparing and doing all those things — those are things that win,” Popp said in an interview.

As seen in TheCapTimes.com