Ira Watkins, MBA, MA, PMP

Judge
DISC Type : Dc

SVP, Director of Project Management at Sunwest Bank

Irvine, California, United States

Overview

Ira Watkins is a strategic PMO and portfolio leader with over 15 years of experience in financial services and the U.S. Army. As SVP at Sunwest Bank, he specializes in turning complex strategy into execution and building enterprise delivery functions from the ground up. He holds a PMP certification and an Executive MBA.

Ira is a U.S. Army veteran who has served in Afghanistan with the XVIII Airborne Corps. A recipient of the Robert F. DeMeter Chapter Service Award for his leadership and dedication, he is a passionate advocate for hiring and supporting fellow military veterans and their spouses.

Unique fact: While President of the Cape Fear Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, he earned a 5-star Level of Excellence Award.

Personality Overview

Quality Focused

Generally Skeptic

Objective Thinker

More than the product, they care about the effectiveness of the product.  They like to act fast and expect others to do the same. They are very proud of what they do.

Topics They Care About

PMO Development
He has a proven track record of building and scaling enterprise Project Management Offices from the ground up in regulated banking environments.
Veteran Support
As a U.S. Army veteran, he actively promotes hiring veterans and military spouses and has held leadership roles in military officer associations.
AI Implementation
He shows interest in AI readiness at scale, sharing articles and raising questions about the challenges of implementing AI within organizations.

Media Appearances

Sunwest Bank Leadership - Sunwest Bank. Featured in Sunwest Bank (official website)

See Now

Work History

3-2025
SVP, Director of Project Management at Sunwest Bank
3-2024 - 2-2025
VP, Director of Project Management at Sunwest Bank
1-2022 - 2-2024
VP, Project Manager at Sunwest Bank
1-2020 - 12-2021
VP, Relationship Manager, Commercial Banking at Citi
6-2018 - 12-2019
Associate Relationship Manager, Commercial Banking at Citi

Education

Executive MBA from University of California, Irvine - The Paul Merage School of Business
Master of Arts (M.A.) from Webster University

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 17 Location : Irvine, California, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : SVP, Director of Project Management at Sunwest Bank
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Insights For Selling To Ira

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Hold your ground without indulging in one-upmanship
  • Get to the point quickly instead of spending time doing small talk
  • Help them weigh the risks by sharing objective proof points without becoming too analytical

DONT's

  • Avoid being a storyteller and don’t try to oversell
  • Don’t take too much time in sending them information if they ask for any
  • Don’t be in a rush to invite them for a social meet and greet

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Ira is

  • Confidence in impact is paramount to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Ira

  • If they are not convinced, they will have no hesitation in telling you the same.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Ira move?

  • They can take decisions very fast if you manage to convince them.
  • Can Ira take some risk or not?

  • The risks don’t matter much to them.

You And Ira

Personality Compatibility


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