Hardmeyer - City Magazine

Who’s had the
CM: most influence
on your life?
HARDMEYER: My dad.
He was an entrepreneur, an
implement dealer in Mott.
When I look back at him,
I look at the community
involvement—the things
you give back. He belonged
to everything: firemen’s
(auxiliary),
Lions Club,
Implement Dealers
Association and
was president of
the League of Cities
and a legislator.
How he fit all
that into his life,
owning a business
and having 12
children, I’ll never
know. He was such
a good and honest
man; ethically,
he was so strong.
It’s always made a
huge impression
on me—about
doing the right
thing. In fact, that’s
one of our “core
values” at the bank:
do the right thing.
I watched my dad
do that throughout
his whole working
career. I learned a lot from
him about treating people
with respect, giving back
to your community and
working hard. He was,
without question, my mentor.
You know the
CM: track record of
the president of BND: your
predecessor (John Hoeven)
went on to become governor.
HARDMEYER: I get asked
about that occasionally, and
my stock answer is that’s
probably going to start and
stop with John Hoeven. I
have no real interest in any
kind of statewide office. At
some point after my BND
career is over, I may be
interested in running for
the legislature. I get up there
(Capitol Hill) to interact
ERIC HARDMEYER
Title: President & CEO
DOB: July 11, 1959, Mott, ND
High School: Mott Lincoln High School,
Class of ‘77
College: Bachelor’s, UND; Master’s,
University of Mary
Family: Wife, Laura, married 26 years; son,
Tom, 25; daughter, Kylie, 22; daughter, Sara,
17; son, Teddy, 8
Hobbies: Mountain biking, golfing, boating,
reading
Most recently read book: A Pirate Looks At
Fifty by Jimmy Buffet
Quote to live by: “Far better it is to dare
mighty things, to win glorious triumphs,
even though checkered by failure, than to
take rank with those poor spirits who neither
enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in
the gray twilight that knows neither victory
nor defeat.” – Teddy Roosevelt
What people would be surprised to learn:
“I’m a twin—the 10th child out of 12th.”
and to work every legislative
session. I’m intrigued by
the process and how public
policy is shaped. So, some
day, I may give that some
consideration.
What’s BND’s
CM: current focus on
the economic development
side?
HARDMEYER: Throughout
the ‘90s and early part of this
century, it was all about job
creation. The concentration
was on providing low interest
rate loans to enhance the
primary sector.
Right now, the state is going
through a transformation—
we have more jobs than we
can fill. The current focus
is on employee
retention and filling
vacancies. You like
to believe that you
can change with the
times. You have to
always be looking
ahead, matching
your programs to
the needs.
In the last three to
five years, we’ve
concentrated
more on wealthgenerating
activities, such as
helping companies
become more
efficient. Through
the Flex Pace
program, we’re
also assisting
essential services
in small towns:
grocery stores, drug
stores, hardware
stores, hospitals,
cafes—services that help
communities attract
and retain families and
individuals.
I wonder how
CM: many people
realize that BND is the state’s
biggest player in the student
loans area.
September 2009 7