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C. Dowd Ritter worked his way up to the top.
While this tale of business success may sound cliche, the chairman, president and CEO of AmSouth Bancorporation now finds himself in the position of crafting his own happy ending to the story.
"It's not a very exciting or complex story," says Ritter, whose bank's purchase of Nashvillebased First American Corp. is pending.
Ritter began his banking career in 1969 with little knowledge of the banking industry. He actually interviewed for sales positions with several national companies before making the decision that a life of training and then moving from city to city wasn't for him. He says he chose the banking field because he needed to go to work, plain and simple. Now he has found banking to be a rewarding business because of his satisfaction with the job.
The Birmingham, Ala., native graduated from college one week, got married the next week and started work at a bank the week after that. He entered about a nine-month management training program at First National Bank of Birmingham, the predecessor to AmSouth. His initial assignment was in the branches of the bank, where he was exposed...