New hires and promotions

Mary Kay Merkt has been named senior vice president, director of vendor management and procurement at Johnson Financial Group in Racine. Merkt has more than 30 years of financial services experience, most recently serving as transition leader and consultant for records management at BMO Harris in Milwaukee. She will be responsible for directing the corporate-wide vendor management program, contract management and the procure-to-pay process.
Adam Gross has been hired as staff accountant at Cohen Fund Audit Services in Milwaukee.
Gwendolyn Dansby has been named vice president, community affairs/Community Reinvestment Act officer at Associated Bank in Milwaukee. She has more than 25 years of financial experience, most recently as relationship manager at JPMorgan Chase-Foundation. Dansby will be responsible for establishing and maintaining outreach relationships with external organizations and other partners involved in community development, ensuring compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act.
Sara McGinnis has been named vice president, compliance quality assurance team leader for Associated Bank in Milwaukee. She has more than 25 years of experience, most recently at Johnson Bank. McGinnis will be responsible for leading the team reviewing Associated’s loan portfolio for regulatory compliance, internal policy and prodcedural requirements.
Laureen Lehnberg has been hired as vice president, compliance education officer at Associated Bank in Milwaukee. She has 30 years of banking compliance experience, most recently at Experis Finance. Lehnberg will be responsible developing compliance training programs for all Associated colleagues.
David Knight has been named vice president, regional real estate manager at Associated Bank in Hales Corners. He most recently served as property manager at Colliers International. Knight is responsible for evaluating and selecting bank branch and office locations.