Caldwell Fills Technology Posts for Concentra Bank

October 13, 2021 – Drew Railton and Adam Cotterall of Caldwell recently recruited Dave Baldarelli as chief digital officer and Wendy Murphy as chief technology and operations officer at Concentra Bank.

Mr. Baldarelli is a motivational leader with a demonstrated ability to guide an organization through innovation and extensive business transformation. He is passionate about creating value for customers and offering products that drive business results. Mr. Baldarelli has more than 25 years’ experience working for banks, credit unions and fintechs. He is active in the community, serving on two not-for-profit boards. Mr. Baldarelli most recently served as senior vice president and chief digital officer of Meridian Credit Union and chief operating officer of motusbank. Ms. Murphy is tasked with developing synergies among the digitization, automation, and operations of the company.

As a former CIO with global experience and a background in banking, insurance and wealth management, she is digitally savvy and business focused. Throughout her career, Ms. Murphy has championed diversity and inclusion, and she has worked to bring STEM events to youth in underrepresented communities. She is chair of the Salvation Army’s IT committee to the board and an advisor to a start-up biotech business that supports mental health. Ms. Murphy most recently served as vice president of channels technology – delivery solutions and operations at TD.

Concentra Bank collaborates with fintechs and credit unions to offer Canadians mortgages, savings products, specialty banking products, commercial lending and leasing solutions, and more. With a Schedule I bank license and a federally regulated trust license, the bank provides wholesale banking and trust solutions to Canadian credit unions.

Caldwell’s global financial services practice serves clients in the areas of investment banking and capital markets, asset and wealth management, alternative investments, insurance, consumer financial services and real estate, as well as all shared services and functional capabilities across the financial services sector.

Mr. Railton is a managing partner in Western Canada. Drawing on more than 18 years of experience placing senior executives and board directors, he provides expertise in board, CEO and senior executive recruitment. Mr. Railton has experience as a director, serving on both volunteer and corporate boards, as well as extensive philanthropic involvement. Prior to joining Caldwell in 2006, Mr. Railton’s career spanned a wide range of industries and functions including roles in operations, sales, human resources, customer service and general management.

Mr. Cotterall is a partner in the firm’s technology and financial services practices, working with clients across North America to build their leadership teams, with additional depth in recruiting CFOs, CIOs and CHROs across a variety of sectors. Specializing in the emerging technologies space, Mr. Cotterall is called upon to recruit senior leaders with expertise in innovation, transformation, artificial intelligence, data and analytics, digital, biotech, E-commerce, edtech and fintech.

Searching for Bank Leaders

Financial services organizations, generally, are facing a new competitive landscape, regulatory challenges and a constant struggle to manage cost and efficiency. This requires strategic leaders with a multidimensional skill-set. Like all financial institutions, banks continue to turn to executive recruitment firms to find new leaders.

Here’s a sampling of some important searches across the sector that are either underway or recently completed taken from the Hunt Scanlon Media Archives:

Rich Perkey and Jeremy Zeman of Caldwell recently assisted CrossFirst Bankshares based in Leawood, KS in the placement of Mike Maddox as its new president and CEO. His successor, George F. Jones, will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors through 2021 and will serve as vice chairman. CrossFirst Bankshares Inc. is a Kansas corporation and a registered bank holding company for its wholly-owned subsidiary CrossFirst Bank, which is headquartered in Leawood, KS. CrossFirst Bank has seven full-service banking offices primarily along the I-35 corridor in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

Irvine, CA-based search firm McDermott + Bull has placed Sean Foley as the chief banking officer of Pacific Mercantile Bancorp, the holding company of Pacific Mercantile Bank, a wholly owned banking subsidiary. The assignment was led by president Brandon Biegenzahn and vice president Michelle Davis. Pacific Mercantile Bank is a full-service business bank with more than $1.3 billion in assets serving Southern California. It is listed as a member of the Russell 2000 Index. The bank is headquartered in Orange County and has seven locations in Southern California, in Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino counties.

Kaplan Partners, which specializes in conducting searches for C-level executives primarily in the financial services, corporate financial, private investor and technology sectors, has placed Carolyn Powell as CHRO for Provident Bank. Provident Bank, a community-oriented financial institution, is the wholly owned subsidiary of Provident Financial Services, Inc., which reported assets of $9.81 billion. With $7.10 billion in deposits, Provident Bank provides a comprehensive suite of financial products and services through its network of branches throughout northern and central New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.