Appointments: New Leaders at Citizens, PBCO, Bank of South Carolina

People’s Bank of Commerce — Ken Trautman, CEO and co-founder of Oregon’s PBCO Financial Corporation, is to retire on July 1, 2023.

The banking group’s president Julia Beattie has been named as Trautman’s successor. She will also join the company’s board of directors. Beattie joined PBCO Financial Corporation in 2013 and has been president for the past three years.

Following his retirement, Trautman will remain on the board of directors, the bank said in a statement.

The Citizens Bank — Mississippi-headquartered Citizens Bank has named Stacy Brantley as chief executive officer following a national search. He will take up his new role with effect from February 13.

Brantley was previously chief banking officer for Morris Bank of Georgia. He succeeds Greg McKee, who retires at the end of January. In the intervening period, Citizens Bank’s executive committee will share the CEO role’s responsibilities.

The Bank of South Carolina Corporation — Fleetwood Hassell, president and CEO of The Bank of South Carolina, is to retire on September 30, 2023. He will remain on the bank’s board.

Eugene Walpole IV, currently chief financial officer, has been elected to succeed Hassell with effect from October 1, 2023.

Hassell was a founding officer of the bank in 1986, and has been president and CEO since 2012. Walpole has been chief financial officer since 2016 and joined in 2012.

Comerica — The bank has promoted three executive leaders to new roles. Peter Sefzik has become senior EVP and chief banking officer. He will oversee commercial and retail banking as well as wealth management. He has worked for Comerica since 1999 and has led the commercial bank as executive director since 2018.

Megan Crespi, previously EVP and chief enterprise technology and operations services officer, is now senior EVP and chief operating officer, overseeing several areas including a new digital transformation department.

Megan Burkhart has been named senior EVP and chief administrative officer. She will continue to oversee human resources while working to advance the company’s ESG credentials. Burkhart first joined Comerica in 1997.

CIBC — The Canadian bank has appointed Jon Hountalas as senior EVP and group head of Canadian banking. He succeeds Laura Dottori-Attanasio, who is to retire from the bank on February 1, 2023.

Dottori-Attanasio has worked for CIBC for 14 years in corporate and retail banking roles as well as risk management.

Hountalas joined CIBC in 2010 and has been group head of commercial banking and wealth management in Canada since 2017. He previously worked for HSBC Canada for 25 years.

Republic Bank — Philadelphia-based Republic Bank has appointed Michael LaPlante as chief accounting officer. He joins from Bryn Mawr Trust where he was chief accounting officer and corporate controller.

He has also held senior positions at The Bank of Princeton, Deloitte, First National Bank of Chester County, and Sun Bancorp.

US Bank — Guillaume Mascotto has joined US Bank as head of sustainable finance to establish and lead a dedicated team to explore sustainable finance opportunities.

The team will be part of US Bank’s Community Development Corporation, the bank said in a statement. As well as developing products and services, the team will also work on US Bank’s strategy towards social and environmental goals such as net zero carbon emissions.

Atlantic Union Bank — Matt Linderman has been named chief information officer at the Virginia-based bank. He was most recently chief technology officer at PNC Financial Services Group, and has previously worked in technology roles for companies including CarMax and Capital One.

Cathay Bank — Chang Liu, president and CEO of California-based Cathay Bank, has been appointed by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to serve as a member on its Los Angeles branch’s board of directors.

Liu has also been elected as a California member director by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco to serve a four-year term.

City National Bank — JaHan Wang has been promoted to executive vice president of entertainment banking at City National Bank. He succeeds Martha Henderson, who is taking on the newly created role of vice chairman of entertainment banking.

Henderson has led the bank’s entertainment industry services since 1989 growing it to provide banking services to Broadway shows, the music industry, and sports companies among other entities.

Wang has worked for City National for 16 years and has been head of entertainment banking on the East Coast since May 2021.