Ask Alberto Garofalo what matters most in leadership, and the answer comes quickly.
“It’s always been about the people,” he says.
It’s a philosophy he has carried through more than two decades at Bank of America, and one he now puts into practice every day across the state as president of Bank of America New Jersey. The bank employs more than 10,000 people in the state and operates approximately 200 financial centers.
“When you invest in people, and not results — the results come,” he says.
It’s always been about the people he leads.
Garofalo, who previously ran the bank’s consumer business in New Jersey, says the most important part of leadership is “building super talented teammates around you.” He has built a team strong enough to run at full speed even when he steps away. That is the mark of a leader who develops talent rather than hoarding decisions.
It’s always been about the people the bank serves.
Under Garofalo’s leadership in New Jersey, the bank has shown up where it counts. A $50,000 grant to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson & Union Counties expanded a mentoring and workforce pipeline that reaches more than 3,000 young people a year with internships, job shadowing, financial literacy and college coaching.
“When young people have access to professional mentors and real career experiences, the impact reaches far beyond the individual,” he says.
As the bank’s voice in the state, he has championed efforts that honor those who serve. They include a $2.25 million partnership with Vet Tix and FIFA that put veterans, active-duty service members, first responders and their families in the stands for the World Cup.
And he has helped the bank protect heritage. It is supporting the conservation of 3,167 works at La Casa del Libro in Old San Juan that were damaged during Hurricane María, a collection that matters to the 1.5 million Puerto Ricans living in New York and New Jersey. Preserving it, Garofalo said, will “inspire talented Puerto Rican artists to continue studying, creating, and enjoying artwork, both on the island and here in New Jersey, New York and beyond.”
It’s always been about his own story, too.
Garofalo was 7 years old when his family left Cuba for the United States. Today, he leads one of the largest financial institutions in New Jersey, and he has never lost sight of the communities, and the opportunities, that made that journey possible.
He has been recognized before, on BINJE’s Power Players list and last year’s Hispanic Business Leaders list.
This year, the choice was clear. For his leadership of one of the state’s largest banks, his investment in the people around him and his commitment to the communities the bank serves, Alberto Garofalo is No. 1 on BINJE’s Best Hispanic Business Leaders list.
Click here to see a Digital Release of the Honorees
Here is the List:
