Illinois banker association's new EVP is rooted in politics

Koch was named EVP at the end of January after Jeff Rodman resigned. Although new to the position, her experience with the association's government relations department prepared her well for the leadership role. "As a lobbyist, I've learned first hand the political dynamics of not only industry issues, but also how to convey our industry's overall message in a positive manner in order to promote its best legislative interests," said Koch. "The association is not only concerned with legislation but also education, products, services and publications."

Rodman, who had been IBA executive vice president since 1998, resigned ofter accepting a position with First Premier Bank in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Still, Koch maintains politics are in her blood. Looking back on 12 years of work at the Illinois state capitol, one piece of legislation sticks out in her mind. Two years ago, the Illinois legislature passed what was known as the `banking on Illinois' bill. "Basically, it says that state banks in Illinois can provide any service or product that banks in any other state can. If a bank gets a certain power or privilege in one state, banks in Illinois automatically get that power as well. That one was huge," said Koch.

Koch believes getting important legislation that is good for banking through the rigors of the political process demand finesse acquired only by experience. "I think the trickiest part about politics is knowing which proposals you absolutely have to have, and which ones to compromise on. And, of course, relationship-building. Every legislator we work with has a different personality and agenda, so you learn to be flexible and work with everybody," said Koch. "Learning the inner workings of government really made the difference for me. In order to communicate banking issues, you have to really understand them. To have the opportunity to get legislators to understand them requires knowledge of the system."

Although her new position has increased her responsibilities, Koch plans to remain very active in Illinois' legislative scene. Koch said it has taken her years to create the rapport at the capitol necessary to produce the desired results. "You develop an intuition for when to push for an issue and when to compromise-just how the political system works-so I'll remain as active in that as possible."

Because Koch was named to the EVP position at the beginning of a new legislative session, it was nearly impossible for the association to hire a new lobbyist right away. The arrangement forced Koch to be more involved in hands-on lobbying than many state association execs. "We eventually will have additional government relations staff to help out on the day to day operations, but I will always have my hands in the program," Koch said.

Originally from the Chicago area, Koch's mixed career of politics and banking began to coalesce near the end of her education within the University of IllinoisSpringfield's Legal Studies program. Koch took an internship at the Illinois state capitol to fulfill a college requirement. Soon ofter, in 1984, she was hired as staff within the House of Representatives, where for five years her duties included staffing the banking committee and analyzing legislation to gauge it's impact on the banking industry. "That's how I initially became acquainted with banking and industry issues," Koch said. "During that time, I developed relationships with the various trade associations." In 1989, Koch was offered a position as assistant director of government relations at the IBA. Twelve years and a series of promotions later, she became president of the department, which positioned Koch for her current leadership role. +