AGE: 36
POSITION: Vice president of technology, The Washington Trust Co.
RESIDENCE: North Stonington, Conn.
LIFELONG AMBITION: Wouldn’t say
FAVORITE BOOK: “The Da Vinci Code,” by Dan Brown
GUILTY PLEASURE: Wouldn’t say
There’s a lot hanging on Jeffrey J. Frenette’s job performance.
As vice president of technology for The Washington Trust Co., he oversees technology services, telecommunications, technology security, technology development and computer operations for Rhode Island’s biggest independent bank.
People’s money is at stake, and people’s privacy – plus there are government regulations to comply with, and competitors galore eager to lure customers away with better technology, better services, more efficiency, if they can muster it.
So every day, Frenette’s job is part compliance with federal mandates, part innovation and exploration of new technologies, and part just keeping everything running smoothly. To do it all right, he draws on two decades’ experience at Washington Trust.
He started in the mail room. From 1987 to 1990, he worked as a mail and supply room courier; then he moved up to a computer operator position, processing information and ultimately becoming responsible for training new operators.
In 1993, he was promoted to PC specialist, the computer guy everyone loves to hate but can’t live without, responding to employee problems and concerns regarding office equipment, hardware and software. He did that for three years before becoming network services manager, taking charge of the bank’s local area network.
In December 1998, he rose to assistant vice president for information services, and a year later, he assumed his current position.
Asked who the most influential person in his career has been, Frenette named Reggie Kenyon, a former boss who he said had “a management style that was the epitome of team-building.”
“He taught me the work ethic that is needed to succeed in any field,” he said. “Reggie was not a white-collar manager, but a third-generation New England farmer. Reggie taught everyone who worked for him that with hard work, determination, and the experiences of successes and failures, anyone is capable of being a great leader.”
