Every time Alberto Garofalo takes over a new team at Bank of America, his first meeting with each teammate looks the same: one hour, one-on-one, no agenda.
They show up armed with presentations and results. He asks them to set those aside and talk about themselves: their families, their pets, what motivates them.
Garofalo, the President of Bank of America New Jersey, said the change in the room is almost immediate.
“You almost see the guard just drop,” he said. “It’s about caring for people. It’s about showing an interest.”
Garofalo shared the approach Tuesday morning at Seton Hall University, in a fireside chat after he was honored as No. 1 on BINJE’s Best Top Hispanic Business Leaders list.
He was speaking during an event BINJE produced in collaboration with the Statewide Hispanic Chamber and the Unanue Institute. Bergen New Bridge served as the Presenting Sponsor for the event; Daily Pay, Bank of America and LISC were Strategic Partners.
The Cuban-born, Hudson County-raised banker spent much of the conversation deflecting credit to his team, his family and the mentors who came before him.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “It’s really about the team. It’s about all of us here in the room.”
He called the recognition a responsibility more than an honor. It is a charge to bring enough people along that next year’s event fills the room “three times, four times, five times.”
Here’s more on the event, which was co-sponsored by the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey and the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute.
Here’s more of the conversation, edited for length and clarity.
BINJE: You’ve taken over a lot of new teams. Tell us about those first meetings?
Alberto Garofalo: I’ve had 20 different careers in the last 23 years. Literally, I’ve moved 20 times with the firm, and it’s been exciting. It’s been great.
Just like everybody else, when you take on a new team, what’s the first thing you do? You go meet. You set up one-on-ones, and you go meet with your teams.
In every single one, I’ve done this intentionally. It’s pretty funny. And try this if you can. I set up the one-on-one. I don’t say what the one-on-one is going to be about. I literally just set up a one-on-one.
BINJE: How does that go over?
AG: The other side is like, “Oh my God, what am I going to talk about?” But there is a rationale to this. I intentionally don’t build an agenda, and of course everybody comes prepared with a bunch of presentations, a bunch of results around outcomes, and that’s immediately what they want to talk about.
I said, “Well, hold on a second. Plenty of time to talk about all that, but let’s just talk about whatever you’re comfortable talking about. I want to get to know you. Tell me about you. Tell me about your family if you want to tell me about your family. Tell me about your pets. Tell me about what you like to do. What motivates you? What inspires you?”
BINJE: Does the business get lost?
AG: We still get to talk about those things, and we still are focused on outcomes. But I focused on them first before we talked about the results, and I think it goes a long way. I’ve done that for the last 20 years, and I will continue to. I genuinely am fascinated by people, and that’s just who I am.
BINJE: Where does that come from?
AG: Back to my mom and dad. They used to say, “Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres,” which is basically, “Tell me who you spend time with, and I will tell you who you are.” You are an average of the five people you spend the most time with. And frankly, that’s been true through the friends that I pick that are still my best friends now, and mentors and colleagues along the way.
BINJE: How does that translate to running a business?
AG: It’s about investing in the people. It’s about investing in future leaders. It’s around surrounding yourself with extraordinarily talented teammates and taking on the long game. When you invest in people, the results will come, but they’re going to come in the right way — in a way that’s sustainable, in a way that’s repeatable.
Leadership is not about followers. It’s about building other leaders.
BINJE: Take us back to your beginning.
AG: I was born in a small town called Pinar del Río, Cuba. At a young age, we migrated to the United States — lived in Costa Rica for a bit, lived in Panama for a bit — and eventually ended up in Hudson County, New Jersey, of all places. March 7, 1983. I was 6 years old.
Originally, it was in North Bergen, because my uncle helped us come here. We lived with him for about six months before my dad and my mom and my brother and I were able to go out on our own. We ended up in West New York, small apartment on 66th Street, right across the street from a car wash. If you know that area, that car wash is still there.
BINJE: And then the bank took you out of New Jersey.
AG: The first time I ever left New Jersey, believe it or not, was with the bank. To this day, my wife’s family reminds me that I was the one that took their baby away from their family, because we moved to Tampa, Florida, which was the first role I had with the firm.
BINJE: You speak so glowingly of your family, tell us more?
AG: My family sacrificed everything so that my brother and I — who passed away many years ago, so it’s just me, essentially — have the opportunity that we do. I owe everything to my family. It’s that simple.
When you think about the courage that it takes to do that, the resilience — I didn’t know it then, but it’s prepared you for just about everything that we deal with today: resiliency, leadership, courage, being humble, being authentic.
BINJE: Including advice on picking a partner.
AG: They gave me advice early on: “One of the most important decisions you’re ever going to make is picking your partner.” My wife is incredible. And we have two daughters, 22 and 20, both at Rutgers. One of them is a senior pre-med — for all of the hospital and medical professionals in the room, Dr. Garofalo sounds really good — and the other is going down the veterinary path. They are the reason why I get up in the morning. They are the reason why I do what I do.
BINJE: It’s a demanding job. How do you keep up?
AG: You know how in an airplane, God forbid something happens, the mask falls? You put the mask on yourself first, and then for the people that are with you. It’s kind of the same thing. If I want to be the best version of myself to my kids, to my wife, to my family, to my teammates, to my friends, I’ve got to start with self-care. For me, it’s about prioritizing sleep, meditation, reflection, feeling grateful and exercising.
Sleep particularly has become more important as I’ve gotten older, because it’s a superpower as far as I’m concerned. Good sleep starts, frankly, the moment you wake up. It doesn’t actually happen at nighttime.
BINJE: What does being No. 1 on this list mean to you?
AG: This recognition is not about me, and it’s not about anyone else. This recognition is about who we represent. It’s because of the people before us, because of the mentors, because of the leaders making a difference, because of those that invested in me, and it’s because of the team.
Yes, I was born in Cuba, I grew up and started at zero, and that is humbling, and I accept that recognition. But it’s a responsibility more than anything else, for us to help others get here and fill the room three times, four times, five times going into the coming years.
BINJE: How do you do that?
AG: If it wasn’t because people believed in me, who took time to mentor me and sponsor me and show the way, there’s no way I would have made it here.
The way you do that is by partnering with organizations like the Boys & Girls Club and many others, and giving back, volunteering. We’ve got 11,000-plus employees in New Jersey, over 130,000 hours of volunteering across the entire state over the last four to five years. We show up where it matters.
Everybody needs a mentor. Everybody needs a sponsor. Everybody needs time. Everybody needs coaches and guidance, and we’ve got to go back and pay it forward.
