Keith Dean has always been drawn to small businesses. Growing up, he admired the entrepreneurial spirit behind these endeavors, and knew he wanted to be involved. It was just a matter of finding the right fit – a career path that engaged his energy and passion, while allowing him to give back to the community.
Keith, Relationship Manager, Business Banking, joined Texas Capital Bank on May 9, 2022. His role is a hybrid, the first of its kind at the bank – part banker, part Community Development officer. He’s focused on the South Dallas area and offices out of the bank’s Trinity Groves location.
“I love business and I love helping people,” Keith says. “I was drawn to this role because Texas Capital Bank is so business driven, which appeals to me – but also for the opportunity to get out in the community, meet people, and help them make a difference.”
Keith was born and raised in Rustin, Louisiana. His mother worked in Student Life at Grambling State University; his father managed a construction company. Keith attended Grambling State University and graduated in 1996 with a bachelor’s in marketing and a minor in finance.
He’d played football in his youth, and after graduation, he had the opportunity to show his tape to a coach for the St. Louis Rams. He signed as a running back with the team in 1998. When he was cut in 1999, he went to Kansas City and played for the Chiefs for a few months. Once he’d decided to hang up his cleats for good, he returned to another early interest: small businesses. Keith pursued a job with Chase and landed in their mortgage department. After a year, he relocated to Texas to work in the small business unit, creating and expanding relationships with clients.
“For me, that’s where it all started,” Keith says. “I could see how businesses operate and it opened my eyes – from the moment a business is incorporated until it opens its doors, there’s a lot that needs to take place. I learned that process from A to Z.”
He left Chase for Countrywide, then moved over to the automotive industry, where he worked as a funder. Next he was recruited by Santander, where he served as a credit analyst, structuring deals and working as a customer liaison.
After the economy crashed in 2008, Keith resurfaced at Citi on the mortgage side, handling escrows for Fannie Mae on properties that had been foreclosed during the recession. In 2011, he again returned to the automotive industry. Keith spent eight years at GM Financial – four on the consumer side and four on the commercial side – before leaving in 2017 to work for the SBA as a GS 11 Loan Specialist.
“That was the beginning of my transition in coming to Texas Capital Bank,” he says.
While at the SBA, Keith underwrote loans to help Puerto Rican businesses that had been impacted by a then-recent natural disaster. He interviewed for a position at Texas Capital Bank in the Warehouse Lending department, and though he didn’t get the job, it helped him create a roadmap for what to do next in his career. He spent the next two years at WarranTech, serving as a Senior Loan Account Specialist. In February 2020, he joined Goldman Sachs as a Bank Loans Operations Analyst, but COVID cut that opportunity short.
That September, Keith returned to small business banking when he took a job as a loan officer with a CDFI called People Fund. In this role, he built relationships within the community, helped educate clients on the loan process, and sought opportunities to make loans with businesses that would benefit Texas’s lower-income communities. The job joined his love for business with the deep satisfaction of helping people lift up their communities. He was hooked.
“When someone comes to me and has a vision, I can help educate them on the step-by-step process of setting up a business,” Keith says. “If they’re really dedicated, they’ll pay attention, take notes, and do what they need – and then I’ll bring them in as a client.”
Texas Capital Bank’s approach to business appealed to Keith, and he was excited to join in mid-2022. No two deals are the same, he says, and that lends a lot of excitement to his role.
He also appreciates the opportunity to meet with business owners and chambers of commerce and discover who might make a good client for Texas Capital Bank. Once he meets with a prospect and decides he believes in their business, Keith collects preliminary information and comes back to bank leaders to vouch for them. He’s particularly interested in bringing businesses to the South Dallas area that can grow and serve the area while creating jobs, opportunity, and convenience for its citizens. This could include anything from a convenience store to a hardware store to a fast-food franchise, granted that the area can benefit from the addition and the owners are planning to hire from the local community.
“I look at the area I’m tasked with and notice what they don’t have,” he explains. “If a business isn’t in the Trinity Groves area, I ask myself, how can I get them there?”
When Keith isn’t working, he enjoys cooking – he’s been a licensed chef for the past 18 years and has a select group of clients that he caters for. He also enjoys spending time with his family, and has two adult children: a daughter who recently enlisted in the military after graduating with a degree in forensic biology, and a son with a mass communications degree who works as a behind-the-scenes camera operator.
Looking to the future, Keith is excited to be part of the Texas Capital Bank family – especially in a role that allows him to help people and give back to the community.
“I’m not a one-man show, but I am the face of this new hybrid banker/community development role at Texas Capital Bank,” Keith says. “I’m a cheerful giver. If there’s a need, I want to be involved – and I’ll stretch myself thin to make sure people get exactly what they need.”
For more info on Keith Dean, click here to navigate to LinkedIn.
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