From Anderson to the Executive Suite: Michelle Coons’ leadership journey

For Michelle Coons, leadership has never been about a single title - it has been about adaptability, relationships and understanding people.

Coons, executive director at WaFd Bank and previous N.M. regional president at WaFD, graduated from The University of New Mexico in 1983 with a dual major in finance and general management. Now in her 42nd year in banking and covering 6 states for WaFd Bank, she credits her Anderson School of Management education with shaping how she approaches leadership, decision-making and change.

One of the most influential courses she recalls was a management class taught by retired Regents Professor Joe Champoux, where students studied Machiavelli - not as a ruthless figure, but as a complex thinker whose ideas still resonate.

"You really had to read between the lines," Coons said. From those lessons, she carried forward three enduring principles: adapt quickly to change, manage reputation as an asset, and understand human nature deeply.

"If you truly understand what matters to your staff - their challenges and their high points - then they will trust you," she said. "And they'll go the extra mile."

That people-centered mindset was reinforced through Anderson's case-based learning. One project focused on a scrap-dealing business, forcing students to analyze operations holistically - from inventory and pricing to leadership strengths and financial discipline. "It helped me understand entrepreneurs," Coons said. "And it made me realize early on that good financials don't always come naturally, but they're critical for good decisions."

Accounting became one of the most valuable tools in her career. Coons said the strong accounting foundation she gained with Professor John Yeakel's guidance, is something she uses every day as a banker.

Her entry into banking came unexpectedly. While working part time during college, Coons spotted a flyer on a bulletin board at Anderson advertising a short-term project at a local bank. That opportunity led to a management trainee offer before she even graduated and launched a career she never looked back from.

Over the years, Coons has led teams through mergers, acquisitions and major cultural transitions, including overseeing the integration of two banking cultures in Santa Fe while still in her late 30s. "They might hate the bank," she recalled thinking at the time, "but they're not going to hate Michelle."

Her leadership produces measurable results. Since joining WaFd Bank in 2017, the New Mexico bank deposits have almost doubled from $850 million to $1.6 billion. She also produced similar results during her Wells Fargo days in Santa Fe.

Beyond her professional roles, Coons has built leadership experience through deep community involvement - serving on nonprofit boards, mentoring young professionals and maintaining lifelong relationships with Anderson classmates. "Those relationships can carry you through a 42-year career," she said.

As a former board chair of the UNM Alumni Association, the UNM Foundation and the Anderson Foundation, Coons remains deeply committed to the institution that helped shape her. "UNM is critical to the success of this state," she said. "Anderson didn't just prepare me for banking - it prepared me to lead."

For Coons, the lesson is simple and enduring: leadership is learned through experience, strengthened through community, and sustained through trust.