James Ropella, senior vice president and chief financial officer of First Business Financial Services Inc., announced he plans to retire in the fourth quarter.
Madison-based First Business Financial Services is the parent company of Brookfield-based First Business Bank-Milwaukee.
Ropella joined First Business in 2000 as CFO and led the company through the process of going public in 2005. He also helped orchestrate a December 2012 offering that raised more than $29 million to grow the company’s growth and expansion plans.
During Ropella’s tenure, First Business also grew from $300 million to $1.3 billion in assets.
“Jim is a skilled and savvy financial executive whose professionalism and expertise have been instrumental in the success of our organization, as well as the creation of long-term value for our shareholders,” said Corey Chambas, president and chief executive officer. “We deeply appreciate his role in building First Business into a strong and thriving publicly-held bank. We wish him the best in his retirement, and are pleased that he has agreed to partner with us in executing a seamless transition to a new chief financial officer over the remainder of 2014.”
