Banking veteran named executive director of Mays Commercial Banking Program

Dwight Garey ’67 has joined the Commercial Banking Program at Mays Business School as executive director. He will lead the program, which provides well-trained talent to the banking industry while introducing Texas A&M University students to outstanding career opportunities. The program combines academics and industry exposure, and every student enrolls in a summer internship.

Garey is an executive professor in the Department of Finance at Mays. He will teach banking-related courses in Commercial Credit, Enterprise Risk Management, and Sales of Financial Products and Services. In addition, as executive director, Dwight will promote the mission of the Commercial Banking Program with a focus on increasing enrollments and revenue generation.

He was involved in the formation of the Commercial Banking Program. From the beginning, he served on the Executive Council of the Banking Advisory Board, and was head of the program’s Bank Membership Committee.
“I’m fortunate to have an advisory board of most capable and seasoned senior banking executives who are deeply engaged in the governance of our banking program,” Garey said. “Together with the Mays Business School faculty, our mission is to recruit, train and mentor top talent undergraduate and graduate students for careers in commercial banking. Banking has been a very rewarding career for me, and I and our board are resolute in our mission to support the future of our industry through the continued growth and success of our banking program.”

Garey’s career in banking and financial services spans more than 40 years, with 27 years of his banking career in correspondent banking at First City Bank-Houston, and Amegy Bank N.A. in Houston. He managed Amegy Bank’s Correspondent Banking department from 2006 to 2016, a regional line of business for a three-state region. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in finance, then earned an MBA from the University of Houston Clear Lake.

He is also a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University, where he is a director of the Alumni Board of Directors and was president of the Alumni Board 2012-2015.

“Dwight has been very instrumental in launching our program and creating the momentum that we enjoy today,” said Robert Messer, chairman of the Commercial Banking Program’s advisory board. “We are excited that he is joining our program and look forward to where his leadership will take us.”

Garey served three years active duty in the United States Army as an officer, and is a Vietnam War veteran. He earned his commission as a lieutenant upon graduation from the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School at Ft. Belvoir, Va. During his military service in Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal.

The Commercial Banking Program at Mays is designed to equip students with the banking and finance skills needed for a career in banking. The program prepares students to serve the personnel needs of banking organizations in Texas and the United States. The students in the program establish relationships with professionals and other students who serve them throughout their banking careers and develop the financial skills critical to success as a new employee with a commercial bank.

The Commercial Banking Program allows students to learn industry skills and terminologies within a focused curriculum and provides experiences that are not otherwise available to finance majors.