KEITH COSTELLO

CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, LOCALITY BANK, FORT LAUDERDALE

Costello is a co-founder of Locality Bank, which opened in 2022. Its mission is to “empower local companies to maximize their potential” — believing that local companies want to bank with local banks, but that due to bank consolidation, there are few local banks left.

EDUCATION: University of Tampa (BS), University of Miami (MBA)

FIRST JOB: I had a very young entrepreneurial start — a paper route.

DREAM ALTERNATE CAREER: If pressed, I would choose to be a university professor or a CrossFit coach.

MENTEE IMPACT: I hired an FSU student right out of college with a degree in golf club management. He had no business or finance experience, yet we hired him. Today, he has worked in all three banks and is highly successful, and has built a remarkable career for himself and his young family.

SOMETHING SURPRISING: I lost both my parents by the time I was 22.

PASSION PROJECT: I recently was involved in raising money for SebastianStrong Foundation, a nonprofit that funds pediatric cancer research. A friend started it when he lost his son to cancer at 15. We raised money through doing a 110-mile kayak trip from Key Largo to Key West.