Name: Matthew Grant, 46, of Egg Harbor Township
Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science from the State University of New York at New Paltz
Family: Married to Robyn, with son Ryan, 15, and daughter Rachel, 12
Company: Ocean City Home Bank
Position: Business development officer/commercial lender
Phone: 609-927-7722, ext. 7001
As a community bank, Ocean City Home Bank has a strong sense of taking care of customers. I look at my job as helping businesses in my coverage area of Egg Harbor City and Hammonton succeed, whatever their line of work, through offering lines of credit, term loans, commercial mortgages, business equipment leasing or cash management services.
We look at ourselves as partners with customers, which sometimes means introducing them to other customers for their needs, a different type of networking, connecting businesses together.
My day is spent broadening our customer base while expanding existing customer relationships.
Sometimes it’s as simple as answering a really easy question for a customer. Other times it’s researching something for them, something they’re thinking of doing but not really sure how to proceed. I also get leads from existing customers and associates.
Community involvement helps, too. When you’re volunteering, coaching soccer, any number of things we do, you might get a referral while you’re helping others.
Entry: When I graduated from college, I was in a family business, Grant Plywood and Dimension Co., which my grandfather started in the 1920s. We sold parts to furniture manufacturers and I was a sales and design rep.
My sales background got me into banking. I started with the Bank of New York for 12 years. I vacationed down here on a regular basis and have family down here, which made the move down here easy.
I like meeting people and seeing all the business types out there. It amazes me how people can carve out a living and I like helping them succeed.
Right now it’s a challenging economy, and some businesses are flourishing, some aren’t. There are vehicles out there for all of them, and my job is to connect them with what they need.
About me: I love soccer and played through college, and coach my daughter’s team. I also love baseball. Spending time with my family is my biggest hobby.
