JIM MCMAHON GREW UP IN ELMHURST & OAK BROOK • MARRIED TO CATHY FOR 44 YEARS • ATTENDED ST. ISAAC JOGUES & FENWICK ACADEMY • SWAM IN HIGH SCHOOL • WORKED AS CASINO DEALER IN LAS VEGAS
Adversity and unlikely choices were key factors in the success accrued by retired banker Jim McMahon.
"Wisdom comes from humility," McMahon writes in "Here's What We're Going to Do," the memoir/leadership guide the Hinsdale resident published earlier in 2024. From family strife to financial strains, McMahon found his way through to reach the heights of the community banking industry.
The oldest of five siblings, McMahon found himself early on thrust into a household management role.
"My poor mother had five of us before she turned 30. I think that drove her to drink," he said. "Very alcoholic environment, both my parents.
"I was making sure (my siblings) got up on time and got on the school bus," he continued. "I sensed a void, so I just stepped into it."
McMahon detailed a difficult episode at age 15 when he kept his father from attacking his mother during an argument.
"I thought I was going to get thrown down the stairs," he said. "But my father just walked away.
Fonder memories of his childhood include heavy snows and sub-freezing temperatures providing winter delights.
"We'd ice skate on Salt Creek from Fullersburg all the way to the (former) dam," he recalled.
McMahon headed to Marquette University following high school, while his mother and siblings moved to Las Vegas for a fresh start. When the college funds ran out after two years, McMahon used his last $50 to enroll in casino dealer school.
"I became a blackjack dealer," he said. "It was a great experience. I refer to my job as a blackjack dealer as my first job in finance. It really helped me focus to keep track of all that was going on."
Eager to apply his aptitude with numbers, McMahon responded to an ad for bank manager training and moved to Utah to head up a branch. That ultimately led to a transfer to Chicago and a series of opportunities to advance his career, notably with Midwest Bank, where he was elevated to senior vice president and chief lending officer at age 31. He helped preside over the bank's steady growth and led the effort to establish a branch in Hinsdale.
McMahon would go on to sell two banks - fortuitously right before the Great Recession - and then pivot to become a bank revitalizer as the country recovered.
"A bank in Northbrook was hanging on by its fingernails. We did our due diligence and said, 'I think for $8.5 million we can get in there and rescue it before the FDIC liquidates it," McMahon said. "Fixing a broken bank is a lot harder than starting a bank. You've got a lot of things that were not clearly disclosed when you took over."
He officially retired 18 months ago, but actually just began a new chapter he calls McMahon Executive Coaching, coming alongside those aspiring to be in corporate C-suite. He can offer insights on writing a business plan, stragegic planning and dealing with regulators and other topics.
And, of course, he penned his book - as well as trimmed his waistline.
"I went from 80 pounds of fat down to four," he said. "I'm over at the health club between 5 and 5:30 every morning, seven days a week."
- story by Ken Knutson, photo by Jim Slonoff
