Forty Under 40: Christie Turner

Christie Turner planned to be a lawyer, but a bank teller job in her hometown of Russellville during college at Arkansas Tech University changed her mind. She fell in love with banking and ended up graduating in 2005 with a Bachelor of Business Administration, with economics and finance majors.

Wanting to live in Northwest Arkansas, she took a job with Metropolitan National Bank and held multiple positions. In 2010, she became branch sales manager and small business loan officer for U.S. Bank and then moved to Arvest Bank as a private banking officer in 2012. She took a job with Tyson Foods as finance manager in the Food Service division, but realized quickly she missed the daily customer interactions and long-term relationships that come with banking.

In 2014, Signature Bank offered her a job as a commercial lender, and in 2016 she had the opportunity to create the private banking division for the Fayetteville, Springdale and Bentonville divisions. From writing job descriptions, to developing products and services, to creating marketing material, to hiring a team, she had responsibility for it all.

Through her career, Turner has learned that building relationships in her personal and professional life, with her team, her customers and her family is an important part of who she is. She knows that she is a “banker at heart,” and she loves that she gets to help people every day, “whether it’s starting a business or building a home.”

Turner serves on the Corporate Leadership Council of the Walton Arts Center and is a graduate of Leadership Fayetteville and Leadership Arkansas.

Married with two children, Turner enjoys attending every Razorback sport available and traveling with her family.