Pub. 8 2018-2019 Issue 6

4 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S Chairman’s Message J oanne Sherwood, president and CEO of Citywide Banks in Denver will lead the Colorado Bankers As- sociation in the 2019-2020 year. She is the first woman to lead CBA in 20 years and the second ever in the organization’s history. Learnmore about her in the short Q and A below. She is the first woman CEO of City- wide Banks, having been appointed to the position at the start of this year. She has been with Citywide Bank since 2000 and has contributed significantly to the growth of the bank. She has extensive training and work experience in bank operations, loan port- folio management, strategic planning, and staff development. She serves as a mentor to up and coming lenders and has developed a programto assist and support women as they progress up the ranks. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an em- phasis in Finance from California State University at Fullerton and anMBA from Pepperdine University. She is on the associate board of the Boys and Girls Club of Denver. She is also involved with Arrupe Jesuit High. She has strong ties to construction and real estate and is an active member of the Home Builders Association. In January, KevinQuinn, the previous president and CEO of Citywide Banks, was named regional bank president for the Colorado, Montana and California markets of Citywide Banks’ parent com- pany, Heartland Financial USA. “Joanne has built a solid career and reputation in the banking and financial services industry focusing on business management, real estate financing and loan portfolio management,” Quinn said. “Joanne’s leadership and expertise will support Citywide Banks’ continued growth and prosperity.” On her appointment, CBA president and CEO Don Childears told the Denver Business Journal, “She has made it her mission not only to advocate for the banking industry with a very hands-on approach, but to educate and encourage other bankers to promote banking. We are delighted to have her on our leader- ship team.” As Sherwood begins her year as chair, we posed the following questions, which include her responses below. 1. Why did you choose banking as a career? I chose banking because I felt it had a great balance between numbers, custom- ers and interaction with other employees. There were also numerous directions that I could go as a career choice within bank- ing. I enjoy learning about our clients and their businesses. It is an honor to be able to assist in the achievement of their goals. 2. How do you view the industry’s role in the world? The industry’s role is to assist, support and advise customers so that they have their financial needs met in order to be successful. Part of the challenge now is how we continue to evolve as an industry as nonbanks enter the arena. A WORD WITH CBA’S NEW CHAIR, JOANNE SHERWOOD