www.negociosnow.com34 February 2017

Vice President, Relationship Manager in Commercial Banking, Associated Bank

Jose Prado is a Mexican-Ame-rican Banker currently working in relationship management in commercial banking at Associa-ted Bank. He is responsible for the growth and development of the commercial banking portfo-lio and market share to ensure retention of total client assets and growth in relationships.

Raised in a rough neighbor-hood in Nuevo Laredo, Tamau-lipas, Mexico, Prado quickly

learned that the only way to be successful in life was by working hard and getting rewarded for it so he started working a full-time job as a bag-boy at the local So-riana grocery store when he was just 8 years old. Prado worked at Soriana for six years, until his family decided to take a vacation to Chicago, where they later de-cided to start a new life in search of the American Dream.

Prado’s early work in the Uni-ted States was in the restaurant business, washing dishes and, later, waiting tables. It was one of Prado’s restaurant customers

who offered him a job as a teller at Washington Mutual Bank.

After a few years of hard work, Prado quickly moved up in the corporate ladder, working as a teller, personal banker, business banker, assistant vice president, and now as a vice president. Pra-do attributes his success to the support of his wife, family and a couple of good bosses who be-lieved in him and supported him in every way possible.

Prado currently serves on the board of directors for the Little Village Chamber of Commerce and Centro Romero.

Jose Prado, 33A ladder-climbing banker

“If you can’t fly, then run,If you can’t run, then walk,

If you can’t walk, then crawl,but whatever you do,you have to keep moving forward.”Martin Luther King Jr.