Individual Development

Mary Koomar, Roxann Bankert and Laura Tanner represent three generations at Scottrade. Roxann, Branch Manager in Indianapolis, is proud of the role she's played in nurturing Laura's career and that of so many others. She says she gained her leadership abilities from Mary, Executive Director of Branch Administration, who trained her in both formal and informal ways.

Roxann started as an office assistant in 1991 in Dayton, Ohio – and to be frank – did not have the best role model as a boss. So Roxann learned what not to do from her first manager, but a whole lot of what to do from Mary. Mary was then on the trading desk in St. Louis and on the phone frequently with Roxann.

"Whenever I had a situation where I didn't know who to go to get it resolved, I'd call Mary," Roxann said. "She really cares about people. She's fun. She's sharp and she works nonstop."

After Roxann got her broker's license and then stepped up to become a manager, she resolved to be the kind of mentor Mary was for her.

Laura met Roxann when she was just 16 and had an assignment to "shadow" someone in business. She chose Scottrade. The shadowing led to a part-time job as an office assistant, which Laura enjoyed because she got to work with computers and it paid more than her babysitting jobs.

"Roxy showed me the basics of getting started in the market," Laura said. "I remember when she came up to me and put a bunch of stock certificates in my hand and said, 'Do you realize how much money you are holding?'"

It was among Laura's first lessons in customer care and responsibility.

"I have ensured all of my brokers pay attention to detail," Roxann said.

And once they are ready, she said, "I help my employees get ahead in their careers. I kick them out of the nest. They need to grow. And the great thing about Scottrade is that you are never stuck. You can relocate and move up."

Laura was hired full time as an office assistant in 1991 at age 17. She became a broker seven years later, and three years after, at age 26, stepped up to become Branch Manager in Knoxville, Tenn. There she trained another manager, Jim Lomot, who is in Kingsport, Tenn., just about an hour's drive north.

Laura represents her region on the company's Focus Group and now, at 34, has a hard time believing how far and fast she's come. "Rodger calls me the youngest old person at the firm," she said with a laugh.

Robert Haire, III became Scottrade's first Paralegal about a year-and-a-half ago. But it is unlikely he will remain one for very long. While excelling in his current position he is also completing an MBA at Webster University and, with encouragement from his supervisor at Scottrade, Ryan Blum, he is planning to go to law school next.

Scottrade offers up to $5,250 per calendar year for students who maintain at least a B average. Robert fully recognizes the value of this educational opportunity and has always had high ambitions. He has maintained a 3.8 GPA while working fulltime at Scottrade.

Robert applauds the leadership at Scottrade and has found it very effective with his transition into the corporate culture. Ryan is not only Robert's manager at Scottrade, but has become his mentor. The two meet twice a month to share ideas and discuss future goals. He is pleased by the encouragement he receives from Ryan and the entire Legal department.

"Scottrade has been immensely supportive in my continued training and development in both brokerage and legal sectors," Robert said. "I recently spent three days in Atlanta at the Corporate Counsel's Annual In-House Paralegal Seminar. I recognize that opportunities like this not only benefit Scottrade, but me as well."

Scottrade is a particularly welcoming place for college students. More than 13% of our workforce is made up of interns – 370 in 2009. 21% of our branch managers started their careers with Scottrade as interns.

Many companies offer just 12-week programs for interns. At Scottrade, interns can stay on board as long as they are in school, performing well and remain interested. The theory is that the long-term nature of a Scottrade internship offers students a better opportunity to learn the industry because their day-to-day tasks mirror those of full-time associates.

Justin Null, an intern at Scottrade's branch in Sandy Springs, Ga., says, "Scottrade has provided a great learning environment for me as an intern. There was never a question that I felt that I couldn't ask, and often a simple question would lead to a branch conversation regarding the topic."

Justin expected to do a lot of menial work at his internship – tasks like filing papers, shredding, compiling lead kits and taking checks. He realized it wasn't like that at all.

"Initially, working at the branch presented an environment that made me really nervous," Justin said. "I felt that there was no way I'd ever learn enough about Scottrade, IRAs, the market and everything else to be helpful in the office. Anytime I did have a question though, there was always a safety net (brokers, manager, an office assistant) behind me to help. Over time, I grew much more comfortable and now can actually assist my coworkers with questions at times.

"Starting out, I didn't really expect a whole lot besides having some experience to put on my resume and maybe learning a little about the market. But over the past couple of years, I've learned a ton about stocks, options (never even heard of them before working here), IRAs and Scottrade. It was also really nice to know that everyone else in the office had been in my shoes as an intern, which made it really easy to relate."