Chairman, President and CEO, Howard Bank
The last two years have been transformative ones for Howard Bank in Ellicott City, Md., and much of the credit goes to Mary Ann Scully, its chairman, president and chief executive.
Though the bank had been growing steadily since Scully founded it in 2004, her acquisition of a failed bank in late 2014 and another purchase of a Baltimore bank roughly doubled its asset size and branch count, moved it into several new markets in the greater Baltimore area and significantly raised Howard's profile with investors. Today, Howard has 13 branches, its assets are creeping toward $1 billion and its market capitalization is hovering around $90 million, up from less than $60 million at the end of 2014.
Scully also has proven to be adept at taking advantage of market disruption to attract top talent. Not long after Carrollton Bank in Baltimore merged with local rival Bay Bank, Scully brought in Carrollton's former CEO, Robert Altieri, to build up Howard's mortgage-lending operations.
More recently, she recruited four top commercial lenders from BB&T, including Maryland Regional President James Witty, to strengthen commercial lending. All four had been with Susquehanna Bancshares, which BB&T acquired late last year.
Scully, a longtime executive with the former Allfirst Bank before founding Howard, is one of Maryland's most-respected banking and business leaders. She is a former chairman of the Maryland Bankers Association, serves on the board of the Baltimore Federal Reserve and two years ago was named to a newly formed state commission that recommends ideas for improving Maryland's business climate. Last year, the Daily Record, a Baltimore business newspaper, named Scully one of its "Most Influential Marylanders" for the third time.
Scully is also a powerful advocate for women in business. She is a frequent speaker at women's banking events and since 2007 has been actively involved with Network 2000, a women's networking group.
