Independent Banker - March 2019 - 81

Trailblazer
Natalie Bartholomew:
Speaking up for women
Natalie Bartholomew is committed to
empowering women to become community
bankers and work their way up the corporate
ladder. As the blogger behind The Girl
Banker, the chief administrative officer of
Grand Savings Bank highlights the stories
of her industry peers and sheds light on
the lessons she's learned in her own career.
By Beth Mattson-Teig
ver since she was a little girl, Natalie Bartholomew
knew she wanted one thing: to be a
banker. Following in the footsteps of her grandfather
and mother was a natural fit. Today, she's
not only living
that dream
as the chief
administrative
officer at $464
million-asset
Grand Savings
Bank in Grove,
Okla., but she's
also empowerName:
Grand Savings
Bank
Assets: $464 million
Location: 12
branches in Arkansas
and Oklahoma
ing other women in banking through her blog,
The Girl Banker.
Bartholomew launched her blog in November
2017 with the aim to lift women up and celebrate
their accomplishments. " I have always said
from the get-go that I am not an expert on all
things banking or an expert on all things women
in banking. I just saw a need for someone to
own this niche and have this discussion, " Bartholomew
says. Women need to support each
other in moving into leadership roles in banking,
as well as understand they are not alone in trying
to balance work, life, family and everything
else that comes along with having a demanding
career, Bartholomew says.
Quick stat
Fewer than
2%
of bank CEO
positions
worldwide are
held by women
Source: 2017 International
Monetary Fund report
E
The blog includes her own personal experiences
along with a series of profiles that tell the
stories of other women in banking, their secrets
to success and lessons learned. Through her blog
and social media, she posts motivational and educational
articles and inspirational quotes. Recent
blog topics have included " So You Want to
Be a Banker: The Girl Banker's Guide to Moving
Up the Ladder " and " Why You Need a Passion
Planner in Your Life in 2019. "
Although her growing base of followers is
mainly women in banking, the blog also appeals
to working women outside of banking and, yes,
even a few men. Currently, she has more than
2,200 followers on Twitter and LinkedIn, nearly
2,000 followers on Instagram and more than
1,000 followers on Facebook.
Despite her growing brand as " The Girl Banker, "
Bartholomew isn't about to give up her day
job. Banking has always been her passion. She
grew up spending time at $16 billion-asset Arvest
Bank (then called Farmers & Merchant Bank) in
Prairie Grove, Ark., where she often visited her
grandfather, and the people there were like family.
During high school, she was selected to serve
on The Arvest Bank Junior Bank Board, which
gave students the opportunity to learn about
banking at monthly board meetings. At the end
of her senior year, she started working at Arvest
Bank as a teller, and continued to work there part
time while earning a B.S. in agriculture business
and an M.S. in agriculture economics from the
University of Arkansas. " Through that entire
time, I communicated to [the bank] that that was
where I wanted to be when I graduated, " she says.
Throughout college, Bartholomew kept busy
learning the ropes, including opening new accounts
as a customer service representative and,
later, a loan assistant. When she graduated with
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Independent Banker - March 2019

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