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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Donald Allen, chairman and CEO of Cupertino National Bank since 1984, plans to spend more time with charities, hobbies and travel now that retirement affords him more free time.
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Don Allen looks forward
Cupertino National Bank leader retires as CEO after 16 years of service
By Jeff Kearns
Cupertino National Bank Chairman and CEO C. Donald Allen retired from his post on Jan. 24--sort of.
"Well, I am but I'm not," said Allen, who will now be punching in just three days a week. "I'm trying to cut back on the hours I'm here, and the CEO really needs to be around five days a week."
Allen has passed on the CEO portion of his title to David Hood, who previously served as the bank's president. Allen will retain his seat as the company's board chairman.
Allen served as the bank's president from its formation in 1984 until Hood took over in 1989.
Now that he's got more time on his hands, Allen, 65, plans to devote himself to his passions for genealogy and community activism.
Allen and his wife, Sally, lived in Cupertino for 25 years before moving to Saratoga 10 years ago. Allen remains involved in the Cupertino community, but limits his activity in Saratoga.
"The way I see it, you really can't serve two masters," said Allen, who sits on the steering committee for Citizens of Cupertino Cross-Cultural Consortium, works on the Cupertino Community Services Capital Campaign and will be president of Cupertino Rotary in July.
An Oakland native and University of California--Berkeley graduate, Allen said he plans to devote more time to his obsession for genealogy. He may even travel to Europe soon in an attempt to trace his roots back past the five and six generations he's already chronicled.
Allen said he uses some of the same research skills tracing family trees that he used as a young banker--namely, tracking down people who had skipped town with unpaid loans, digging through multiple archives and double-checking documents. He said he writes letters to distant family members around the country, from Napa to New England.
While he may have given up the CEO title, Allen will remain with the bank as a consultant on community relations and other issues.
Allen's semi-retirement came just days before the bank's parent company, Palo Alto-based Greater Bay Bancorp, announced it had signed a merger agreement with Bank of Santa Clara. The $90 million stock swap, expected to be completed sometime in the second quarter of this year, brings the total number of Greater Bay subsidiary banks to seven.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
