Sometimes opportunity knocks on your door.
If it doesn't, you've got to go do the knocking. That's what Min Kim learned in her journey
to the top in the boys' club of banking.  
She is the president and CEO of Nara Bank, the fastest-growing Korean American bank,
with 20 branches and eight loan production offices across the United States. Her days
consist of meetings, conferences, site visits, interactions with clients and schmoozing with
potential investors - not to mention overseeing more than $2.2 billion in net assets.
"At networking events, some [male] CEOs will ask me what it's like to be a female CEO,"
says Kim, 48, sitting in her 10th floor corner office overlooking the bustling streets of Los
Angeles' Koreatown. "I tell them I have the same job and challenges that they have." 
Landing the position took 25 years of persistence. After moving from Korea to the U.S. at
the age of 15, Kim went on to study business administration at the USC. While there, she
was drawn to banking for its service-oriented atmosphere and predictable hours. Her plan
was to graduate from college and jump-start her career in a management-training program,
but she didn't get into one. Brushing off her sense of defeat, Kim walked into Wilshire
State Bank and applied to become a teller.
At first, it was frustrating. She felt she was overqualified to be standing behind a counter
cashing checks and handling deposits. But after a few weeks of self-pity, she had a
revelation. In order for her circumstances to change, she needed to first change her attitude.
"I told myself this is a step to advance my career. I can start from the bottom and make my
way up. From that point, I was really joyful. I began to set goals for my career and I ended
up advancing more quickly than my peers."
Kim stayed at Wilshire State Bank for three years, taking on the position of assistant
operation officer. In 1985, she moved over to Hanmi Bank as an assistant treasurer. While
she appreciated that she was able to use more of the skills she learned in school, she
eventually felt bored. What she really wanted was a position no woman in her company had
ever asked for. She wanted to be a loan officer. 
So she knocked on the CEO's door and told him she would like a promotion.  
No, he said. That job is not for you.  
Kim expected this response. "The banking industry is very conservative," she explains.
"It's very male-dominated. Back in the 1980s, especially in the Korean banking
community, men would not be comfortable discussing financial matters with a woman,
especially a young woman. It would hurt their egos."
But she told the CEO that this was her passion. She said she could do the job just as well, if
not better than the males in those positions. She offered him a risk-free solution: "I told him
to let me try, and if I don't perform, then I'll go back to my original job."
Still, he said no. 
Kim knocked on his door many times. Many times, he said no.
Then one day, for whatever reason, he changed his mind and said he'd give her a trial.
Don't screw up, he warned her. Kim was thrilled. 
Of course, it wasn't easy proving herself. In many Korean households, finances would be
handled by the men. The moment she would introduce herself to clients, they would
demand to be placed with someone else.
After many snubs, she realized that she wouldn't gain credibility by trying to be just like
her male counterparts. She noticed that her colleagues tended to be authoritative and
austere. That was just the way they did business.  
"I thought, I can be different," Kim says. "I was very service-oriented, very friendly and
always kept my word. If I said, 'I can get you an answer in two or three days,' I delivered.
Over time, my reputation began to build. The male customers felt very comfortable and
recognized the quality of me. They would bring their friends over to me, and I began to
build my client base."
Kim moved on to higher positions at Hanmi Bank and in 1995, she was recruited by Nara
Bank to be its chief credit administrator. She went on to become the acting president and
chief operating officer. On Nov. 27, 2006, she was named president and CEO.
"I was scared," Kim admits. "I wondered if I could deliver the performance and meet the
challenges. But I would not know unless I really tried it."
Her goals for the bank include stepping up efforts to bring in clients outside of the Korean
American community, expanding branch networks and helping her staff evolve with the
changing banking environment.
She also strives to know her customers on a personal level. "As a community CEO, you
have to be really accessible. You have to stand in front of the bank to make connections
with the people," says Kim, who lives with her husband and two children in Northridge and
serves on the board of directors of the Koreatown Youth and Community Center.
And when she visits branches, she greets every employee with respect and a smile. "I try to
be a team-builder rather than a strong-standing leader," she says of her business style. "I
want them to know I've been in their shoes."