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Alissa Ward performs two roles at Iowa State Bank
Alissa Ward
FAIRFIELD — Alissa Ward is settling into her role as Vice President of Human Resources and Marketing at Iowa State Bank in Fairfield.
Her position combines two roles that are normally done separately, but Ward’s experience made her an ideal candidate to take on the two tasks when she joined the bank in 2020. Before that, Ward had spent 10 years working as an insurance agent at Gamrath-Doyle Insurance, where her father Pat worked.
Ward is a Fairfield native, having graduated from Fairfield High School in 1997 and then continuing her studies at the University of Iowa, where she focused on business with a specialty in marketing.
“I was interested in advertising,” Ward said about her aspirations in college. “I wanted to make TV commercials or something cool like that.”
After graduating from Iowa, Ward got a job at a staffing agency, and that was the beginning of her career in human resources. She and her husband Tai, also a Fairfield native, lived in Raleigh, North Carolina, for a few years after college, and then moved to Chicago. However, Tai’s daily commute was a grueling 90 minutes, and after a few years the couple was ready to return to a slower pace of life in Fairfield, which they did in 2011.
“We had a 1-year-old at home, and I was pregnant with my second one,” Ward recalled. “His job let him work remotely, so we decided to come home to be close to family. We didn’t have any support system in the big city.”
Ward said she learned a lot during her decade at Gamrath-Doyle Insurance. Even though she grew up around insurance thanks to her father, she didn’t pay much attention to it until she started working in the field.
“I was learning a whole new industry,” Ward said.
Iowa State Bank President Aaron Kness created a new position at the bank in 2020, vice president in human resources and marketing. Given Ward’s background in HR and her studies in marketing, she fit the role like a glove.
“There’s not a lot of people in the banking world who do both,” Ward said. “They’re so different. On the HR side, I work with people to help them grow and develop in their position, or helping managers manage people. We’re really proud of the culture we’ve created for our team, because they enjoy coming to work. The marketing part is completely different and uses a whole other part of my brain. I have to figure out how to best show what we have to offer as a bank.”
Ward said modern-day marketing is more difficult than she imagined it would be when she dreamed of going into the field in college. She said there was no social media to contend with back then, and learning about the best ways to promote the bank through digital marketing has taken some effort.
When it comes to women in the workforce, Ward noticed that there is a stark difference between the banking world and her former line of work, insurance. She said insurance is male-dominated, while banking appears to be female-dominated. For instance, Iowa State Bank is about 70% female, with women constituting more than half of its loan officers and managers, a couple of roles that were male-dominated until recently.
Outside of work, Ward spends her free time with her family, particularly attending her daughters’ sporting events. When she’s not at home, you can find her at either of the town’s golf courses.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
