Johnson Financial Group
555 Main St., Racine
Industry: Banking
Employees: 893 (55 in Kenosha)
johnsonfinancialgroup.com
Karla Krehbiel has a phrase she tries to live by: Life is short. Live it.
For some people, a phrase like that conjures ideas of going on big adventures or throwing caution to the wind.
For Krehbiel, however, the phrase is more about valuing relationships and finding a way to get involved in her community.
“I do my best to live a fulfilled life,” said Krehbiel, regional president – southeast at Racine-based Johnson Financial Group. “It is amazing how the years pass you by, there are so many opportunities to explore, connect and make a difference.”
“I value relationships. Taking the time to really get to know people. Meaningful connections can bring happiness and support, and you never know how you might impact someone’s life,” she said.
Krehbiel is the Kenosha Area Business Alliance Business Leader of the Year.
A lifelong Kenosha resident, Krehbiel has been in financial services for more than 40 years and has been with Johnson Financial Group since 2007. She was named regional president for the southeast market in 2016. She oversees the bank’s commercial, retail and wealth management business lines in Kenosha and Racine counties.
Krehbiel also currently serves on three boards in the community. She joined the Kenosha County Food Bank a few years ago, chairs the Carthage College Business and Professional Coalition and serves on the Racine County Economic Development Corp. board. Until this past fall, she was also on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Foundation board.
There was a point when Krehbiel was serving on 12 boards in the community.
Her past service includes being on the board and a past president of KABA and the Kenosha Chamber of Commerce along with being a board member of the Kenosha Achievement Center, Downtown Racine Corp., Racine Kenosha Community Action Agency, United Way of Racine County, United Way of Kenosha County, TEMPO’s Kenosha and Racine chapters, then-House of Representative Speaker Paul Ryan’s small business advisory board, and Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast.
“We can all make a difference in this world if we are willing to invest our time and resources,” Krehbiel said.
She also makes it a point to help those she works with get involved, including by coordinating a list of team members’ organizations and making connections where possible.
“I often, being in my role, I get requests from a lot of different organizations for board members, and I can’t be on everything – I’ve learned that over the years,” Krehbiel said. “So, knowing what my team is interested in, I try to delegate or reach out and have conversations with them to see if they’d have an interest.”
She added that making connections can also extend beyond her company to others in the community.
“Sometimes that leads to reaching out to one of my peer bank competitors that I’ve become friends with over the years and say, ‘Hey, this organization is looking for that. Do you have anybody on your team that can help them out?’ That’s really benefited me and organizations across the community,” Krehbiel said.
Beyond involvement in the community, Krehbiel and Johnson Financial Group have also continued to invest in their presence in the county. The bank’s Kenosha South office recently underwent a remodel and the Kenosha Midtown location is next on the list with work likely to begin this year.
The plan is for the Midtown location to be remade with meeting and seminar rooms so Johnson Financial Group can provide financial education programing to the community.
“When you look at what Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood is trying to do in that community – we’re just down the street from KIN – we want to be active and part of that in any way that we can,” Krehbiel said.
Johnson Financial Group has four branches in Kenosha County with $752 million in deposits as of June 30. At almost 22%, its deposit market share in the county is second behind only JPMorgan Chase, according to FDIC data.
“There is so much opportunity for local businesses here in Kenosha,” Krehbiel said. “It is critical for us to work together to ensure all aspects of our community are considered when changes are made.”
