BBA+ graduate masters the ins and outs of risk management.

South Floridians are very familiar with Commercebank. But they probably don’t recognize the name Evan Sicle (BBA ’04), even though her work is central to the banking convenience upon which Commercebank’s customers have come to rely.

Evan Sicle

As assistant vice president for operational risk management, Sicle works as part of a team charged with keeping services online, even in the midst of natural disasters and other emergencies. In hurricane-prone South Florida, she fulfills a critical function at the bank.

The Cuban-born Sicle recalls that when Hurricane Wilma blew into town, she and her team had the bank in full swing by the next business morning. They pay almost as much attention to the national hurricane warning system as do local meteorologists.

“We monitor any tropical storm activity and provide the executive response team the information to declare a disaster for the institution, which starts a process of closing branches, then reopening them as soon as possible,” Sicle said.

Contingency planning is only one aspect of Sicle’s responsibilities at Commercebank. She also oversees the financial institution’s system of internal controls, an issue that has drawn increased attention in the post-Enron era.

“Commercebank is very dedicated to making sure our financial reporting and internal systems are sound,” she said.

Business program boosts career opportunities.

Sicle’s star has risen quickly at Commercebank since she joined the bank in 1998 after graduating from what was then called Miami-Dade Community College with an associate degree in business administration. In her first position, she worked on the bank’s Y2K conversion activities. Two years later, she moved into information systems. It was also at that time that she enrolled in the College of Business Administration’s BBA+ Weekend program, in which she majored in international business and management.

“The program was perfect for my schedule as I was a project manager and was on call a lot,” she said. 

In addition, she was attracted by the program’s focus on global business issues.

“I’d always been interested in international business and the program really taught me how cultural differences influence business practices,” she said.

“I am taking material I learned in the weekend program and applying it directly to my work in the office,” Sicle said. “It’s really relevant to what I am doing on a day-to-day basis.”

The Commercebank assistant VP is finding that other aspects of the weekend program are proving useful in her growing role as an expert speaker on disaster recovery within financial institutions.

“As students, we have to deliver presentations to our classmates and be assessed for the strengths and weaknesses of our presentations,” Sicle said. “Being able to communicate effectively with an audience of 500 participants and relate to people within the scope of what they do is something that I can trace directly to what I’ve learned in the college.”