Marcia Malzahn’s Blog

Marcia (“Marci”) Malzahn, a native of Nicaragua, came to Minnesota in 1986 and started a career in banking. She left banking in 1999 for a leadership technology role in a non-profit organization, returning in 2005, this time as the first employee and co-founder of a new bank startup. In her role, Marci oversaw all the bank operations areas, including finance, IT, compliance, internal audit, deposit/loan operations, risk management and HR; most recent positions included EVP, COO, CFO and CRO.

Starting the bank allowed Marci the opportunity to lead various teams, and to work with attorneys, auditors, regulators, vendors, board of directors, shareholders, senior management and employees. Marci had a variety of management responsibilities over the past 18 years in banking, 13 of which were in senior executive leadership positions.

Having grown the bank from zero to over $300 million in assets during a very challenging 10-year period, Marci wanted to be able to help other community banks and financial institutions gain from her 20+ years of banking experience. That goal led to her founding of Malzahn Strategic, a community financial institution consultancy focused on strategic planning, enterprise risk management and talent management. Marci combines her banking experience with strategic insight to integrate these areas and help institutions achieve their vision.

Marci is an international bilingual professional speaker, speaking frequently at banking conferences and associations as well as leadership and women’s conferences. Marci also provides online and onsite banking training. Marci is a published author of three books: Devotions for Working Women: A Daily Inspiration to Live a Successful and Balanced Life (2006), The Fire Within: Connect Your Gifts with Your Calling (2015), and The Friendship Book: Because You Matter to Me (2016) also in Spanish El Libro de la Amistad: Porque Tu Me Importas (2017).

Marci is the recipient of a number of professional awards, including “40 Under Forty” by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, “Top Women in Finance” by Finance and Commerce, ”25 on the Rise” by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and “Outstanding Women in Banking” by Northwestern Financial Review. She holds a B.A. in business management from Bethel University, is a certified life coach, and is a graduate and faculty of the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, Wisconsin.