Eric Doyon, Manager of Business Loans & Services SVP, is celebrating his 20-year work anniversary! We recently interviewed him about what brought him to SBSI, why he enjoys working with us and what he likes to do with his free time.
Q: What brought you to SBSI?
I was only two years removed from college with a degree in Finance and Economics, and didn’t graduate in what I’d call a robust job market due to the unfortunate events of 9/11, as such, job options in my field were fairly limited.
I was working for a large insurance company in their claims department when I stumbled on a job posting for a Credit Analyst position at my hometown bank, Saco Biddeford Savings, and it seemed like it’d be the perfect fit of financial analysis and blend of macro and microeconomics, in order to officially put my degree to work.
As it turned out, the hiring manager, Phil Fearon, was someone I knew, being that his son Josh Fearon (now president of P&C) and I went to school and played on several sports teams together.
When I inquired about the position, Phil encouraged me to apply while providing the caveat of “…but we’re really looking for someone who can hit the ground running” which was a little discouraging at first, being that I didn’t have a lot of related work experience at the time.
That said, I either knocked their socks off during the interview or they didn’t have any better candidates to draw from! Nonetheless, here we are 20-years later, and the rest is history!
Q: How have you moved or advanced between departments/branches?
I owe much of my career at SBSI to Phil Fearon and the Bank for taking a chance on me at such a young age. Like all things, “it takes a village” and, in my humble opinion, I have had the privilege of learning under some of the greatest Banker’s of all time, each of whom had different expertise to draw from.
Under their tutelage, I grew into a larger role of managing the Commercial Credit Department, to now coming full-circle and succeeding Phil as the manager of the Commercial Loan Department, upon his retirement.
While I’m still learning every day, I was fortunate enough to inherit a great team of people which I am eternally grateful for – there isn’t a single one of us that can do all things, so it’s critical to have a team of people that bring different strengths to the overall group, and we all support each other and work well together.
Q: Why do you enjoy working at SBSI?
I’ve lived in the Saco and Biddeford area my entire life, so it’s nice to play an active part in helping the members of our communities and developing relationships with them throughout some of their personal and business milestones.
As part of the Bank and member of the community, seeing the revitalization of Biddeford from a tired, former bustling mill town, to one of Maine’s youngest and most vibrant cities has been extremely rewarding, especially knowing that we, the Bank, have played a small but critical role in partnering with some of the developers whose goals were to revitalize the downtown.
The Bank is also extremely generous in providing employees with flexibility and encourages employees to become involved in their communities, while supporting multiple local charities and organizations through monetary and like-kind donations.
We really are a bit of a throwback in the world of banking, who truly put their money and efforts where their mouth is.
Q: How do you enjoy spending your free time?
When I’m not working, you’ll likely catch me inside or outside of the sidelines, attending or coaching one of my children's sporting events.
As much as I have enjoyed coaching their teams, I am most looking forward to watching them play out the remainder of their careers from the sidelines as their number one fan…with a few critiques here and there, of course.
