By Christopher Delporte
After narrowly surviving a deadly plane crash, WaFd Bank President and CEO Brent Beardall shares the takeaways that altered his approach to work, life and the value of personal connections.
“I am the luckiest human being alive, and I’m happy to have that debate with anyone here,” said Brent Beardall, president and CEO of Seattle-based WaFd Bank, kicking off his comments at ABA’s Emerging Leaders Forum. As Beardall began to share the story of how his worldview and leadership perspective had been reshaped by recent events in his life, it quickly became clear that few in the ballroom filled with emerging leaders likely would take him up on the offer to debate his claim at the outset.
On Jan. 2, 2023, Beardall and two other passengers boarded a private plane piloted by a bank client and friend. They took off from Provo, Utah, to attend the Rose Bowl football game in Pasadena, California. Shortly after takeoff — not much above 200 feet in the air — the small twin-engine jet banked hard left, its left wingtip tearing a gash in the runway, which slammed the plane into a patch of snow and ice, rolling 10 to 15 times.
Amazingly, the two passengers in the back of the plane walked away from the mangled wreckage. The pilot died on impact. Beardall, who was sitting in the copilot position on the right side of the flight deck, remained conscious albeit trapped in the twisted metal of the barely recognizable cockpit, which took the brunt of the impact. “My nose was essentially severed from my face. My right leg had a compound fracture, both bones sticking out of the leg,” he said. “My pelvic bone was destroyed. Both arms were embedded in the cockpit.”
An airport employee who had been plowing snow nearby unpinned Beardall and told him to sit still until help arrived. “But human nature takes over. I needed to survive,” Beardall said. “I unbuckled the five-point seatbelt myself, stood up somehow and jumped out of the wreckage.” Beardall was helped to the snow, where he lay face down. The man who had been running the snowplow later told Beardall, “We didn’t think there was anything we could do for you, and we wanted to let you pass in peace.”
For Beardall, that experience taught him a valuable lesson that he passed on to emerging leaders.
“Don’t let others define your destiny,” he said. “These were very well-meaning people with good intentions, but they thought I was done. If you apply for a job and you don’t get it, don’t let others define your destiny. You own it.”
Fifteen months later, after numerous operations, rounds of physical therapy and painful recovery, Beardall said it’s not the scars or pain that stand out from his harrowing experience. It’s a sense of gratitude — one that’s reshaped how he looks at life, his role as a banker and as a leader.
“I believe banking is a noble profession,” he said. “It’s about caring for your colleagues — being there when they’re not OK and letting them know it’s OK not to be OK. And as leaders, don’t pretend to be OK when you’re not. Reach out to people you trust. All too often in our society we pretend. That’s not the way it should be.”
One of his “greatest learnings” after the crash, Beardall said, has been to focus on finding connections with those around us. “Our differences are real, and we should celebrate them, but we should also find and focus on what we have in common. Sometimes that’s harder,” he said. “Finding those connections is transformational.
“I grew up believing that you do not intermix your professional life and your personal life. It’s a cardinal sin,” he added. “Guess what? I don’t care anymore. I tell people I love them. Life is too short not to tell the people who make a difference in your life that you care for them — that includes people you work with and clients.
“This life is about relationships. Break down barriers. Make yourself vulnerable. You will be blown away at what comes back to you.”
