From the outside it may look like she has it all, but only Dianne Grenz really knows the struggles she’s faced and what it truly took to get to where she’s at today. I met with Dianne in her office for the interview and throughout the entire time a dozen people, all in different roles, must’ve popped their heads through the door to say hello. She was so warm greeting them and knew everyone by their name. Dianne Grenz is a personable woman who is highly respected by her company. This is a woman who’s worked hard and dedicated countless hours to succeed. When you combine all her attributes you realize what the true definition of “never give up” really means.
Dianne is one of six children. She appreciated having a good upbringing. Her parents worked hard and provided for the family. She described her mother as a strong role model for her. “She worked and raised her children on her own” said Dianne. Dianne made a decision not to go to college after graduating from high school. “My father already had two kids in college” she stated. Instead she went to Berkley Secretarial School. She landed her first job at Marvel comics and started in the HR department. By the time she left she was working for the Chairman. “My work had been noticed. I worked hard. This was all new to me” said Dianne. She had not only become a part of their professional, but also a part of their professional lives.
In the midst of making changes and attempting to grow professionally, Dianne realized she wasn’t in a healthy or happy marriage. Her children were two and four years old when her ex-husband left the home. “I had no support for my children” said Dianne. She struggled to find and maintain balance as a single mother and a working woman who had to provide financially for her children. Dianne would pick up freelance work on the side and recalls “I would be typing until 2am and sometimes the nanny who came to watch my kids, so I can go to my full time job, would have to wake me up at 5am to get to work.”
She recognized wanting and needing to have growth in her career. She worked at a few different companies after Marvel prior to coming to Valley National Bank in 1995. She was hired at the bank as a manager and recalls preparing the power point presentations for meetings. “I taught myself to do the financial filings and eventually started working alongside the CFO” she said. At this point she had a mentor who was the Chairman. She believes having a mentor is incredibly important “because it gives you guidance and opportunities to ask questions and learn” she said. She believes people need the daily coaching. Dianne feels “it’s important to see situations with different lenses.”
As her professional life started to grow, her personal life also began to improve. Her mother had introduced her to a man who worked at a brokerage firm. They eventually married when her children were five and seven years old. She now had a wonderful blended family with four children who all loved each other. When her children were in junior high school she was approached with another opportunity from her employer about returning to school. “My husband was so supportive. He helped raise my children like they were his own” said Dianne. She took the opportunity and worked full time during the day and returned back to school four nights a week at Centenary College. “I doubled up on classes to get done and out. I had a family to raise and a job to get to. I graduated with a 4.0 GPA” says Dianne.
She didn’t stop there. Dianne’s superiors saw potential in her and encouraged her to continue on to graduate school. She enrolled in the Rutgers Executive MBA program. It was a two-year program and she was in eight classes during her last semester. Dianne said, “I was one of the oldest in the MBA program. There were about 50 students.” She graduated in 2013. “My goal was to finish everything by the age of 50” she said. And she did just that. By the time she graduated with her MBA, Dianne had risen by six positions at the bank. She said, “If I had gone away to college I wouldn’t have gained experience the same way I did as I matured.”
As she kept focus on school through the years, she had her family life to tend to simultaneously. Her mother became ill while she was in the midst of school, but it didn’t stop her from helping to take care of her. “My parents sacrificed so much for their children. We didn’t go out for dinners. My mother cooked all our meals. My parents did what they did so they could provide better for their children” said Dianne. She felt it was her duty to give back what she could to her mother.
Dianne reminisced about her childhood and how it embedded values in her and for her family. She recalled, “My parents decided to build a house in Livingston when they had the money. They decided to do the landscaping and paint themselves to save money. We would all wake up early and would start painting.” They would have families over to build family unity and she recalls it was always a happy environment. “I don’t remember people talking about each other. Everyone enjoyed each other’s company” said Dianne.
Within the values her parents passed on, they instilled in her to always give to others. When her children were young she would take them to the food pantry and they would bake and entertain the families. She’s been involved on the Board for one of the largest food pantries in NJ as well as the Make a Wish Foundation for the past 17 years, where she helps mentor the parents as well as understand the child’s wish as a “wish grantor.” Dianne has helped women in so many ways. She has gone as far as going to child care services to find out how women can get child support. “I wanted to know how women can get the money from the fathers for their children” said Dianne. Dianne dedicates much of personal time to helping others not only get back on their feet, but giving them hope to having a better quality of life.
It’s hard to believe this is a woman, who in 7th grade was in a class for “shy children.” “I would get pulled out of my mainstream classes to go to this during the day. I’m not sure if it helped, but I know life lessons and experiences have helped me to speak up” she said. Her advice to women, “don’t let anyone show you a path that you don’t believe is ethical for you to take.” Dianne believes everyone helping each other will help bring success to one another’s life and the good fortune that will come is with hard work.
She worked hard and her contributions were noticed. Today, Dianne Grenz is the only female in the role of a Senior Executive Vice President at Valley National Bank along with Chief Consumer Banking Officer. She hasn’t let her success change who she is. She maintains her roots, her values and her focus. Her consistency, determination and hard work changed the course of her path and made her journey strong. She’s using her trials, tribulations, experiences and successes to help pave a path for future generations.
Best,
Tanvi Mathew, MS, LPC
EMERGE- The Counseling & Coaching Center
