Dianna Borsi O'Brien, freelance writer

Writing about Jeff MacLellan, vice chairman of Landmark Bank, the former chairman and CEO before he retired in December, was an amazing opportunity.

Truthfully, I wasn’t too excited about interviewing the head of one of Columbia’s largest banks. Number crunching isn’t that interesting to me.

However, five minutes into our interview, I realized MacLellan isn’t the stereotypical image of a banker. The knit polo shirt was my first tip off. His honest, open answer to my question about where he’d been during the weeks prior to our meeting — having prostate surgery and then getting a subsequent clean bill of health — told me more about who he really was than any quote he could give me or comment from any of his colleagues.

But as I dug and talked to him, the picture became fuller and I realized he was a number cruncher — and a respected and admired friend and colleague.

Read about MacLellan in this article, published in the Columbia Business Times on March 19, 2010.