The ball was in Mark Turner’s court.

A few years ago, Turner’s predecessor as CEO of WSFS Bank, Skip Schoenhals, published a memoir that offered a behind-the-scenes look at his tenure leading the bank through the savings-and-loan crisis of the early 1990s. Turner recalled Schoenhals often teasing throughout the book that a follow-up volume would be Turner’s responsibility.

“At several points in his book, Skip made references like, ‘We’ll cover that more in Volume Two,’” said Turner, whose 25 years at WSFS culminated with 12 years (2007-2019) as CEO. “He was kind of leaving that next one up to me, hinting that it was my turn.”

That turn has arrived as Turner recently released The Path to Sustained Excellence: Strategy, Culture and Team, co-written with Brittany Kriegstein and Lizzie Simon. The book shares the essential strategies that helped WSFS grow from a $100 million market value to a $3 billion enterprise. Furthermore, Turner, who took the helm of WSFS right before the Great Recession, draws on his extensive leadership to offer guidance for aspiring business leaders while reflecting on the key decisions that enabled WSFS to thrive through challenging times.

By blending his reminiscences with broader insights for leaders across industries, Turner points to three pivotal moments that shaped WSFS Bank’s trajectory. First, he credits the bank’s resilience during the Great Recession, which allowed it to capitalize on opportunities while competitors faltered.

“That strength gave us the ability to pick up talent and market share,” Turner said. “A lot of our competitors didn’t get through that time quite as well — or at all. That period put us into a position to grow.”

Second, Turner describes a calculated series of acquisitions that helped WSFS expand. Starting with smaller acquisitions, the bank steadily grew its capabilities, eventually closing billion-dollar deals with Beneficial Bank and Bryn Mawr Trust.

The third significant moment came during Turner’s 2016 leadership sabbatical.

“I traveled 44,000 miles to visit 49 different organizations across the country,” said Turner, who spent much of his time in Silicon Valley, learning from both emerging fintech startups and established giants like Google and Apple.

Turner returned with insights that reshaped the bank’s digital infrastructure.

“We intentionally disinvested in a lot of physical infrastructure to reinvest in digital,” he said.

All throughout the book, Turner emphasizes the bank’s cultural focus on building strong, mutually supportive relationships with stakeholders, including employees, customers, and investors.

“We wanted to create a win-win in every interaction,” he said. “It wasn’t about the organization winning at the expense of employees or customers. It was about creating advocates who believed in our mission.”

A key philosophy in the book is Turner’s “Declaration of Interdependence,” rooted in his upbringing in the Logan section of North Philadelphia, where teamwork and shared values shaped his leadership approach.

“Everyone had a job to do,” said Turner, a St. Joseph’s Prep graduate and the eighth of nine children in his family, “and we looked out for each other.”

The Path to Sustained Excellence was a collaborative effort, with Kriegstein conducting dozens of interviews and countless hours of research to make it accessible to readers beyond the banking industry.

“Obviously I was the source of the material, but the amount of research and investigations Brittany did to make sense of the stuff coming out of my mouth was amazing,” said Turner. “We needed someone to come in and take an objective view: How do we make a story out of this to non-WSFS folks or non-bankers? That’s where Lizzie’s skills came in.”

“We wanted it to resonate with people from all walks of life,” said Kriegstein. “We broke down the nitty-gritty of banking into digestible language. Mark’s honesty and vulnerability — his willingness to show his cards, so to speak — makes the book so meaningful for a wide audience.”

Turner praised Kriegstein’s and Simon’s ability to weave his insights into a compelling narrative.

“It’s another example of great teamwork,” he said.

“This book is a legacy for not only Mark and WSFS but for the entire state of Delaware,” said Kriegstein. “The bank is such an integral part of its history.”