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52 DS: What are your biggest expectations for the industry and your company, in the next year and, specifically, biggest expected challenge biggest, greatest hope? Scott: I think the biggest challenge that we're going to have is understanding what the norm is out there for us in our operating environment. Gateway historically has been a very consumer-centric organization, a high-tech organization. Our reputation and our success are based on successful delivery of products and services to customers—and it's this one set of circumstances to deliver those in person, and it's another to have to deliver it electronically and online. And we must adapt to the challenge of the environment. Now, this natural evolution was happening before COVID-19, but the pandemic accelerated it. Because, I hate to use the term "generational deal," but I think the operating millennial generation is more inclined to do things online than in person, for convenience sake, and it's just easier for them to do. So, it was a transition we had already sort of started but accelerated a lot so the biggest challenge is: How do we maintain our success, which is already based on that high, high engagement, high delivery-of-service in this new operating environment? Maybe it's a little bit different and more challenging than before, but maybe the greatest opportunity is that there's so much disruption that's occurred in society that we can work this to our advantage. I always look at every challenge as creating an opportunity. And if we can figure those opportunities, we have the opportunity to gain market share, grow our business, succeed, and be successful. It's going to be that way, so if the glass is either half full or half empty, let's make it half full and pour more in there. And it's not just our customers, it's also team members. is has shown us if we have employees, that they've determined that they can work from home now many of them are going to want to continue to work from home. We're going to have to cross those bridges as we go through this renormalization process. DS: And what do you think is the most significant concern to the borrowers that you serve? Scott: First of all, I think it starts with them personally. ere's just so much uncertainty out there right now in everybody's life, like a job: Will I have a job tomorrow? Can we see the end of this? What's the new normal going to look like? So, I think you have to deal with that in the context. It's the same with our employees too. What is the new normal? How do we deal with people's angst and concerns, focus, and attention are a lot different than they were six months ago? ere's also our customers—are they confident in the way we do business online? Do we have the systems in place that you get the same service virtually you get otherwise? Do we have data security for a totally remote environment? And if they "There's just so much uncertainty out there right now in everybody's life, like a job: Will I have a job tomorrow? Can we see the end of this? What's the new normal going to look like?" Cover Story By: Christina Hughes Babb