Banach joins Associated Bank
Lou Banach has joined Associated Bank as senior vice president of commercial banking in the east region.
Banach will be responsible for leading a commercial banking team in southeast Wisconsin. He will be based in Milwaukee.
He brings more than 22 years of banking experience to Associated Bank. Previously, he held several senior leadership positions in commercial banking, including regional president and director of consumer and commercial banking for Ridgestone Bank in Brookfield and senior vice president and deputy regional manager for LaSalle Bank, where he was responsible for business development and client relations for middle market companies in Wisconsin.
“We are very pleased to have Lou on our commercial banking team,” said Associated Bank executive vice president Dennis Krakau. “His broad background and experience will be of tremendous value to our commercial banking clients.”
Associated Bank is part of Green Bay-based Associated Banc-Corp.
Randolph is new CEO of Potawatomi Business Development Corp.
Pepi Randolph, a former president of Forward Wisconsin, has been named chief executive officer of the Potawatomi Business Development Corp. (PBDC).
The PBDC is owned and operated by the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin. The corporation seeks to diversify Potawatomi business interests beyond gaming in an effort to secure the future of the Potawatomi tribe.
Randolph joined the PBDC in 2007 as vice president of sales and marketing.
Kip Ritchie, PBDC’s vice president of business development, has been named chief operating officer.
The appointments come as part of a leadership and organizational restructuring following the Great Recession.
Formed as the diversification engine for the Forest County Potawatomi Community, the PBDC’s holdings are nearly $40 million. However, like most business entities, recessionary challenges forced the PBDC to re-assess their organization and strategic priorities. As a result, the PBDC divested some investments, restructured its leadership, reduced expenses and re-focused its partnering and investment strategies.
“Pepi brings a diverse set of leadership skills to the role of CEO along with a vast Wisconsin network of contacts that will benefit PBDC as the corporation looks at new growth and partnership opportunities,” said PBDC board chair Kevin Allis. “With both Pepi and Kip, we now have the leadership and strategy in place for PBDC to build an economy separate from the tribe’s current dependence on Indian gaming, and become one of the most successful business development corporations in all of Indian Country.”
Prior to PBDC and Forward Wisconsin, Randolph’s past positions included assistant vice president in the investment division at M&I Bank in Milwaukee, assistant general counsel for the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club, and he was a top sales performer for both Johnson & Johnson and Procter and Gamble.
PBDC’s priorities for 2010 include being in position to review and establish a pipeline of acquisition, partnership or joint venture opportunities with other tribes and private industry.
Scott Conger has been promoted to assistant treasurer of AMCORE Bank. Conger will work from AMCORE’s Waukesha office at 20935 Swenson Dr., and will assist the bank’s treasurer in understanding, evaluating and managing its overall balance sheet.
Conger joined AMCORE in October 2006 and has nearly 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Previously, he worked in the money market products department where he was responsible for providing short-term investment and funding products for institutional clients.
Conger is a Certified Treasury Professional, and is also a member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Milwaukee and the Association for Financial Professionals.
