Gary O'Connell

"If a business is operationally sound and backed by strong leadership with a compelling service proposition, we’ll find a way to help them overcome challenges and support them. That’s what community banking is all about."
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Gary O’Connell, Central Oregon Market President, Summit Bank, Bend/Redmond

When Gary O’Connell joined Summit Bank in 2015 to launch its Central Oregon expansion, he helped establish more than a new office—he helped shape a culture. “That summer, we installed a kegerator in the bank lobby,” he recalls with a laugh. “It drew attention but reflected a fun, professional culture.” A few years later, when Summit opened its Redmond branch, it too came complete with a kegerator—proof that a sense of community and connection are part of the bank’s DNA.
 
Gary oversees Summit Bank’s Central Oregon market, working with local business owners on relationship banking—from commercial lending and treasury management to client service and financial guidance. He also mentors his regional team and oversees specialized banking groups in Portland and Eugene. “As our team grows, my role includes knowing when to step back,” he says. “My colleagues would say that’s still a work in progress.”
 
His approach to banking has always been intentional. “Unlike many who call themselves ‘accidental bankers,’ my career was intentional,” Gary explains. “I was drawn to finance early, fascinated by decision-making in economics, and began lending to friends as a freshman in high school.” That early interest evolved into a banking career that began in 1994 and deepened when he moved to Central Oregon in 2000. “While long-time locals may debate when someone becomes a true local, Central Oregon has long felt like home to me,” he says.
 
Gary describes Central Oregon as a place where entrepreneurship and community pride thrive side by side. “You can walk into a shop, jobsite, or nonprofit, meet the founder, feel the energy, and see how the business is creating jobs for neighbors or impacting the community,” he says. “Helping them grow—even through tough cycles—never gets old. Central Oregon is small enough that you can make a difference, and sizeable enough to matter.”
 
That combination of responsiveness, creativity and human connection defines his approach to banking. “A pillar of Summit Bank’s delivery model is to make quick, informed decisions with fast turnaround times, all while doing what we say we are going to do,” he explains. “It’s a high-wire act because we’re not equity investors, but we describe ourselves as creatively conservative.”
 
One example came several years ago when a local business owner called Gary at 5 p.m. on a Friday, urgently needing to submit a bank term sheet that night as part of a buyout deal. “We stayed after hours to conduct a quick financial review, rebuild the cash flow trail, and construct a post-purchase balance sheet,” Gary recalls. “By the middle of the evening, we had furnished a term sheet and were prepared to fund the buyout.” The result: the deal went through, and the company has since expanded, adding new locations and scores of new jobs.
 
Another story began at an after-hours mixer. A business owner explained that his financial institution had declined a loan because the property he wanted to buy—a warehouse intersected by a railroad spur on leased government land—was “too complicated.” Gary pulled him aside. “By the end of the evening, we had mapped out how to properly collateralize and document the loan and got the deal done, albeit with some very custom language,” he says.
 
“These stories share common elements: in-person collaboration, active listening, open information sharing and striving for win-win outcomes,” he adds. “Even with technological advances, banking remains a people business. Creating plans with business owners is a process that technology can’t replace.”
 
Gary’s empathy for entrepreneurs runs deep. “I grew up in a family of small business owners,” he says. “Despite seasonality, competitive forces and economic headwinds, my parents still had to meet payroll and needed capital. That perspective stays with me.”
 
He views Summit’s role as championing the people behind the numbers. “We don’t just underwrite numbers—we underwrite people and plans,” he explains. “I always tell a new client that they may not agree with everything we say, but we’ll be transparent and approachable. We’ll show our work and always explain the ‘why’ behind a decision.”
 
Outside the bank, Gary remains deeply engaged in community life. He serves on the Business Oregon Finance Committee and the board of Synergy by Association, an Oregon Bankers Association-related buying cooperative. Locally, he supports economic development and nonprofits that strengthen Central Oregon’s business ecosystem and workforce. He particularly enjoys mentoring students at OSU-Cascades. “It’s invigorating and always gives me a sense of hope and optimism for our future when I leave the classroom,” he says.
 
Recently, Gary and his wife established an endowment to help low- and moderate-income students access new sports opportunities.
 
Whether in the bank or the community, Gary’s philosophy remains simple: “If a business is operationally sound and backed by strong leadership with a compelling service proposition, we’ll find a way to help them overcome challenges and support them,” he says. “That’s what community banking is all about.”

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