Education: Bachelor's degree in economics, College of William & Mary

Career: Custer began his career at Wachovia and then did a stint at First Union, which is now part of Wachovia. But most of his professional life has been with RBC Bank and its predecessors, Peoples Bancorp and Centura. He was appointed CEO in 2004. Salary is not disclosed.

Family: Wife, Betsy. Two daughters -- Meredith, 24, Lizzy, 21.

Community involvement: He is on the boards of the N.C. Chamber, YMCA of the Triangle Area and the N.C. Museum of Art Foundation. He is chairman of the Wake Education Partnership's 2008 annual campaign. And he sits on the board of visitors for UNC-Chapel Hill.

On sports: Custer is a big sports fan. He gets to every Carolina Hurricanes game he can, and though he didn't go to school at UNC-CH, he has adopted the Tar Heels as his favorite college team. He's a nut for sports trivia and since about age six has made a point of reading box scores and other statistics.

On exercise: "I exercise for myself, not to win marathons," said Custer, who tries to work out five days a week. "I'm a Clydesdale runner. I lift weights, but only to stay in some semblance of shape. ... I'm a good three-sport athlete: I can do the treadmill, the elliptical trainer and the bike."

On reading: "People talk about being in the book of the month club; I'm in the book of the decade club," Custer said. He said he doesn't have time for novels, but he consumes a steady diet of newspapers, such as The Wall Street Journal, and magazines such as American Banker.

On hobbies: "Work does take up, good or bad or worse, a lot of time. I do try to find time to exercise. I try to find time to play golf, and I try to find time to go to my house at the beach. Those are my three things that I do -- and spend time with my family. ... Other than that, I try to just be a normal guy."