President NationsBank Card Services – Charlotte, North Carolina
Eileen M. Friars is president of NationsBank Card Services in Charlotte. She is responsible for both the cardholder and merchant business. The Credit Card business has more than $9 billion in assets and 2,500 employees. Before assuming this role in January 1992, she was senior execu-tive vice president of Corporate Development for C&S/Sovran Corpo-ration in Norfolk, Va. Prior to that, Ms. Friars was senior vice president of The MAC Group, a strategy and general management consulting firm, from 1976 to 1990. While at The MAC Group, she was managing partner of the Chicago office and co-directed the firm’s financial services practice. Also, Ms. Friars was a management associate at the Office of Management and Budget for the U.S. Government from 1974- 1976. Ms. Friars earned her BA in economics and government from Simmons College in Boston in 1972, and her MBA at Harvard Business School in 1974. Ms. Friars has been active in a variety of business and community organizations and serves on the MasterCard U.S. Region Business Committee. She is a member of the Simmons College Board where she co-chairs the Finance Committee, and she is president of the Charlotte Repertory Theatre. In the September 1994, American Banker, Ms. Friars was chosen as one of the 10 card-program executives who made an impact on their institution, their chosen market and their industry. In 1993, Ms. Friars was elected to the prestigious Committee of 200 (an international association of preeminent business women). She is currently a member of the Board. Ms. Friars has published several articles including, “Winning Strategies for Consolidation,” Bank Marketing Association, June, 1989; “Shape of the Future: Banking in 1991,” (with William T. Gregor), The MAC Group, 1987; and “Distribution: A Competitive Weapon,” (with William T. Gregor and Lucille Reid), The Bankers Magazine, May/June 1985. She is co-editor of Financial Services Handbook: Executive Insights and Solutions, John Wiley & Sons, 1987.
