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Executive Management
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Executive Management
Larry D. Richman is Senior Executive Vice President, Group Head, CIBC U.S. Region, and President and Chief Executive Officer of CIBC Bank USA. Richman oversees CIBC’s expanding U.S. businesses, including middle market commercial banking, wealth management, private banking and retail and digital banking.
Richman joined CIBC following its June 2017 acquisition of The PrivateBank, where he served as President and CEO. He joined The PrivateBank in November 2007 to drive its strategic transformation into a leading middle market commercial bank, growing from $4 billion in assets in 2007 to over $20 billion in 2017.
He has over 30 years in banking and spent the majority of his career with LaSalle Bank in Chicago, where he rose to President and Chief Executive Officer of LaSalle Bank N.A., and President of LaSalle Bank Midwest. He began his career at American National Bank and joined Exchange National Bank of Chicago in 1981 until its acquisition by LaSalle.
He is on the Dean’s Advisory Council at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, where he earned his MBA. He was inducted into the Academy of Alumni Fellows for the Kelley School of Business in 2006. He is a past Trustee of Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. Richman was inducted into Bradley’s Centurion Society for distinguished alumni in 2017. He also holds an advanced certificate from Stanford University in credit and financial management and is a Lifetime Advisory Board member at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Richman is very active in many civic, philanthropic and governance activities. He serves on the boards of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Big Shoulders Fund, Chicago Urban League, Museum of Science and Industry, Western Golf Association and the Executives’ Club of Chicago. He is a member of the Financial Services Roundtable, the Commercial Club of Chicago and its Civic Committee, the Bankers Club of Chicago, and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and a past member of its Board of Directors. In 2012, he was appointed to the Board of World Business Chicago, which was created by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to promote the benefits of doing business in the Chicago area to business peers worldwide.
Richman has received a number of civic and charitable awards. Among them, he received the American Diabetes Association’s Father of the Year Award, the Humanitarian Award from the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and the Spirit of Erikson Institute Award. He also received the Civic Achievement Award from the American Jewish Committee.
He and his wife, Corky, have four grown children and six grandchildren.
Brant Ahrens is President, Retail and Digital Banking. He oversees retail, small business and mortgage banking, CRA strategy and community development and correspondent banking. He also leads the marketing and communications groups. Ahrens serves on the CIBC U.S. Region Executive Committee.
Ahrens most recently served as President, Personal Client Services, for The PrivateBank, which was acquired by CIBC in June 2017. He joined The PrivateBank as Chief Strategy Officer, later added the role of Chief Marketing Officer and served as Chief Operating Officer from October 2009 to February 2012. Prior to joining The PrivateBank in October 2007, Ahrens was Group Senior Vice President and head of LaSalle Bank’s Financial Institutions Group. In this capacity, Ahrens covered mid and small cap banks on a national basis primarily providing acquisition financing, cash management and capital markets solutions. Having spent his entire 15 year career at LaSalle Bank, he has also had experience in risk management, strategic development and was head of International Corporate Banking.
Ahrens is on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Bankers Association, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Foundation, Brain Research Foundation and Operation HOPE. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Shawn Beber is Managing Director and Head, US Capital Markets where he is responsible for providing oversight for all CIBC Capital Markets activities in the US Region and is accountable for the strategic vision and growth of the US Capital Markets businesses. Shawn is also a member of the CIBC Capital Markets Management Committee, US Region Executive Committee and CIBC Operating Committee.
Prior to this role, he was a Senior Vice-President, Strategy & Corporate Development responsible for identifying, assessing and executing key transactions as well as supporting CIBC’s executives across businesses to develop CIBC’s corporate and strategic business unit strategies. Shawn also spent several years in CIBC’s Merchant Banking Group within CIBC’s Capital Markets line of business and began his career at CIBC as a member of the Legal Division.
Shawn is a graduate of the combined Master of Business Administration / Bachelor of Laws program from the University of Toronto and holds a BA from the University of Western Ontario. He is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Karen Case is Executive Managing Director and President of Commercial Real Estate for CIBC’s U.S. Region. She oversees the groups that develop and manage real estate finance and banking relationships with dynamic and growing commercial real estate developers, investors, owners and operators across the U.S. Case is a member of the U.S. Region Executive Committee.
Case most recently served as President, Commercial Real Estate, for The PrivateBank, which was acquired by CIBC in June 2017. Prior to joining The PrivateBank in 2007, Case was Executive Vice President of LaSalle Bank where she ran several business lines within the bank’s Commercial Real Estate group. Prior to joining LaSalle in 1992, Case established and managed the Midwest real estate loan production office for New York-based Marine Midland Bank. Prior to that, she was responsible for managing banking relationships with Midwest-based real estate development and syndication firms at The First National Bank of Chicago.
Ms. Case currently serves on the boards of Rush University Medical Center, Community Investment Corporation, TimeLine Theatre and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), Illinois Chapter. She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, The Executives Club of Chicago, Leadership Greater Chicago, CREW Chicago, The Chicago Network, International Council of Shopping Centers, and Real Estate Finance Forum.
Ms. Case earned her MBA from The University of Chicago and a BS in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis. She also attended The University of London and The American College in Paris.
A native of New York, Ms. Case lives in Chicago’s River North neighborhood with her husband, Jay. They have three grown children.
Jennifer R. Evans is Executive Managing Director and General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for CIBC’s U.S. Region. She is a member of the U.S. Region Executive Committee. As General Counsel, Evans oversees the organization’s legal affairs and provides counsel to the CEO, executive team and Board of Directors on a broad range of business, strategic and risk management considerations. She is regularly involved in corporate governance and strategic planning matters, strategic transactions, oversight of corporate and regulatory compliance, and regulatory and legislative affairs.
Prior to joining The PrivateBank in 2010, Evans was engaged as a consultant to various financial institutions, bank audit committees and public companies regarding compliance, regulatory and disclosure matters. From 2004 to 2007, she was Executive Vice President and General Counsel for MAF Bancorp, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed company, and its subsidiary Mid America Bank, an $11 billion community banking organization operating in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas that was acquired by PNC. Evans spent over 20 years in the private practice of law with Vedder Price P.C., a Chicago-based law firm, where she was the partner in charge of its corporate securities practice group. She represented a broad range of public companies, financial institutions and investment banking firms in connection with capital raising transactions, strategic advisory matters, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, public company compliance and financial disclosures, and other general corporate matters.
Evans received her undergraduate degree in economics from Brown University and her Juris Doctorate from Boston University School of Law. She is admitted to the Illinois and U.S. Supreme Court bars and is a member of the Financial Services Roundtable, American Bar Association, the Economic Club of Chicago, Chicago Finance Exchange and The Chicago Club. Evans serves on the Board of Directors for Girl Scout Council of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
Bob Frentzel is Managing Director and President of Specialized Industries for CIBC’s U.S. Region. He is responsible for several industry sectors including asset-based lending, construction and engineering, insurance & securities, non-bank financial institutions, security alarm, surface transportation, technology banking and he oversees US treasury management services. Frentzel serves on the CIBC U.S. Region Executive Committee.
Frentzel also held the same role at The PrivateBank, which was acquired by CIBC in June 2017. Prior to joining The PrivateBank, Frentzel served as Group Senior Vice President at LaSalle Bank for 11 years. At LaSalle Bank, he was responsible for building and managing many of its specialty commercial lending divisions, including construction & engineering, for-profit education, environmental, food & agribusiness, insurance, power & energy, security alarm and surface transportation. Frentzel began his career at Harris Trust & Savings Bank (now BMO Harris Bank) where he worked for nine years in business development and commercial lending.
Frentzel received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Miami University and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He serves on the Board for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago and is a trustee for The Chicago Academy of Science and Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. He also is a member of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, Leadership Greater Chicago, The Bankers Club of Chicago, The Chicago Club, Economic Club of Chicago, Union League Club and The Executives’ Club of Chicago.
Bruce Hague is Executive Managing Director and President of National Commercial Banking, responsible for the Cross-Border Desk, Syndications, Sponsor and Non-Finance, and Leveraged Finance for the U.S. Region and is a member of the U.S. Region Executive Committee. In his role, he oversees implementation of the Company’s strategy in 16 offices in 13 states across the US: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
Hague also held the same role at The PrivateBank, which was acquired by CIBC in June 2017. He joined The PrivateBank in October 2007. Previously, he was Executive President of National Commercial Banking for LaSalle Bank, N.A., where he was responsible for overseeing 23 regional banking offices, including all commercial regional offices located throughout the United States, and International Corporate Banking. He was also responsible for LaSalle National Leasing, Corporate Finance and Employee Stick Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Prior to joining LaSalle in February 1992, Hague worked with two Chicago area groups in mergers and acquisitions. In addition, he gained extensive banking finance and business experience as a commercial lender with American National Bank of Chicago for 11 years.
Hague is a member of the Northwestern University Alumni Association and serves on the Boards of Directors for the Daniel J. Murphy Scholarship Foundation, The Chicago Lighthouse for the blind and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in Management, Finance and Accounting from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School Management.
John Heiberger is Head of US Real Estate Finance for CIBC’s US Region, reporting to Karen Case. John oversees the CIBC Real Estate Finance team based in New York and with offices in Newport Beach, Chicago and Atlanta. He is a member of the U.S. Region Executive Committee. Prior to his current role, Heiberger was Chief Strategy Officer for The PrivateBank, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of CIBC. He also previously served as a member of the Bank’s Risk Management Group responsible for the criticized asset portfolio and in 2009 was tapped to oversee the integration of a community bank expanding The PrivateBank’s retail presence. Before joining The PrivateBank in 2007, Heiberger was a Group Senior Vice President of the Middle Market and National Institutional Real Estate Groups at LaSalle Bank. Additionally, he served at Draper & Kramer Realty Advisors, Inc. and dealt specifically with placing debt and equity for pension fund clients. He began his career with LaSalle Bank, spending seven years with the company before moving on to Draper & Kramer.
John is a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow (Class of 2008) and President of the Board of Directors for Umoja, a model school community partnership that exists to help to prepare students in some of Chicago’s most challenged public high schools for academic success, college preparation and job training. Additionally, John sits on the Board of Directors for Fenwick High School and is an Emeritus Board Member for the Aspire organization and NAIOP – Chicago. He received his Bachelor of Arts in business from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Kevin Killips is Executive Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer for CIBC’s U.S. Region and is a member of the U.S. Region Executive Committee and the Global Operating Committee. In his role, Killips is responsible for the financial planning, treasury, accounting, reporting and management functions for the U.S. Region. He also oversees comprehensive operations, including information technology and facilities.
Killips previously served as Chief Financial Officer of PrivateBancorp, Inc., the parent company for The PrivateBank, which was acquired by CIBC in June 2017. He joined PrivateBancorp in 2009 after serving as Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller with Discover Financial Services. Prior to that, Killips worked for nearly 10 years at LaSalle Bank and its then-parent company, ABN AMRO, serving as Global Executive Vice President, North American Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller. He also was director of Internal Audit, and then Vice President-Finance at Transamerica Corporation. Killips began his career at Ernst & Young, where he served from 1979 to 1993. Killips is also a member of the Illinois CPA Society and the American Institute of CPAs.
Killips serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Dominican University.
Bruce Lubin is Executive Managing Director and President of CIBC Illinois Commercial Banking. In his role, he oversees the teams delivering commercial banking services to Illinois-based companies, as well as national companies within The Bank’s Specialized Industry Groups.
Lubin has more than 30 years of experience in financial services and joined the former The PrivateBank in 2007. He most recently held the role of Executive Vice President and Head of Illinois Commercial Banking Group for LaSalle Bank, N.A., which consisted of 37 divisions. Before that, he was with the Exchange National Bank of Chicago. Lubin began his career in commercial lending at American National Bank of Chicago.
Lubin received both his bachelor’s degree and MBA from the University of Connecticut. He serves as President of the American Jewish Committee in Chicago, Gilda’s Club of Chicago, the Civic Consulting Alliance, and Chairman of the Board of the Chicagoland Chamber Commerce.
Jack Markwalter is Chief Executive Officer of CIBC Private Wealth Management in the U.S. and serves on CIBC’s Operating Committee as a member of the executive leadership team and on CIBC’s U.S. Executive Committee. He’s also chairman of several of the entities within CIBC Private Wealth Management — CIBC National Trust Company, CIBC Delaware Trust Company, CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc., and CIBC Private Wealth Group, LLC.
Jack has more than 30 years of experience in the private client and investment industry. He joined the firm in 2002 as head of business development and became chairman and CEO in 2004. From 2005 to 2013, he also served as senior managing director of Invesco and as a member of the Invesco Executive Management Committee. From 2008 to 2010, Jack was head of Invesco U.S. Institutional Sales, Client Service and Consultant Relations as well.
Prior to joining CIBC Atlantic Trust, which became CIBC Private Wealth Management in 2018, he served as managing director and national director of the client strategy group for Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management.
Jack earned a Bachelor of Science with highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.
He serves in various leadership roles for numerous community organizations. Among other positions, Jack is a member of the board of directors for the Georgia Tech Foundation, the board of directors for the Marist School and the board of directors at the Woodruff Arts Center. Additionally, he serves as co-chairman for his Harvard Business School Reunion Fund Campaign and remains actively involved with the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, the Atlanta History Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters, all of which he previously participated in as a board member.
Jack has been featured in various publications and other media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, CNBC, Private Asset Management magazine and Family Wealth Report.
Julie O’Connor is General Counsel for CIBC Bank USA and Head of Regulatory Affairs for the U.S. Region. In her role, O’Connor supports the broad-based legal needs of CIBC Bank USA, including board governance and commercial and retail banking. O’Connor also oversees regulatory affairs for the bank and its affiliates in the U.S. Region. In addition, O’Connor serves on the CIBC U.S. Region Executive Committee.
O’Connor previously held a similar role with The PrivateBank, which was acquired by CIBC in June 2017. Prior to joining The PrivateBank in 2008, O’Connor served as Associate General Counsel for Bank of America, leading a team of attorneys supporting the Commercial Bank. Prior to Bank of America’s acquisition of LaSalle Bank, O’Connor worked for LaSalle Bank’s parent company, ABN AMRO North America, Inc., where she served as Associate General Counsel for 14 years. In this capacity, O’Connor led a team of more than 30 attorneys, paralegals and support staff that supported commercial and retail banking activities of ABN AMRO and LaSalle Bank, including trade services, treasury management and vendor risk management. Before joining ABN AMRO/LaSalle, she was worked with the Chicago law firm of Chapman and Cutler providing support to banks on commercial transactions, and banking and regulatory matters.
O’Connor earned her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Business and holds a CPA certificate. She also earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois.
She is President of the Western Springs School Board and a mentor and volunteer with Chicago Scholars, an organization that supports high school and college students from underserved communities in Chicago.
Jeff Steele is President, Healthcare and Suburban Banking for CIBC’s U.S. Region. In this role, he oversees the delivery of commercial banking services to the owners and operators of independent, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing facilities, as well as to commercial middle market companies in suburban Chicago communities. Steele serves on the CIBC U.S. Region Executive Committee.
Steele held a similar role with The PrivateBank, which was acquired by CIBC in June 2017. Prior to joining The PrivateBank in 2007, Steele worked in various capacities at LaSalle Bank, N.A., including serving as Group Senior Vice President from 2001 to 2007. At LaSalle Bank he was also head of multiple general C&I teams with a focus on private equity coverage. Prior to joining LaSalle in 1992, Steele served in a variety of roles at National Boulevard Bank of Chicago (now US Bank), including Vice President and Co-Head of Commercial Banking.
Steele received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and completed a graduate program in Banking Management from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He is a board member of the Chicago Children’s Choir and past trustee of the Harris Theater, Shedd Aquarium and Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart. Steele has taught as a guest lecturer at the Indiana University Kelley School for Business and the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business.
Kevin Van Solkema is Executive Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer for CIBC’s U.S. Region. He is responsible for the US Region’s enterprise risk management program, which includes independent oversight of credit, operational, market, liquidity and reputational risks. Van Solkema is a member of the U.S. Region Executive Committee.
Van Solkema held a similar role with The PrivateBank, which was acquired by CIBC in June 2017. Prior to joining The PrivateBank in 2008, Van Solkema spent seven years in various risk management roles with Chicago-based LaSalle Bank and its parent company, ABN AMRO. He most recently served as the Deputy Chief Credit Officer for LaSalle Bank and was responsible for credit approval working with the company’s lending units to evaluate and approve extensions of credit to achieve sustainable portfolio quality and earnings growth. Other roles included leading the commercial credit approval team and overseeing the Commercial Risk Management unit; serving as Head of Consumer Risk Management for North America at ABN AMRO/LaSalle Bank responsible for all credit and operational risk management activities for ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, LaSalle Bank’s Consumer Lending and portfolio mortgage unit.
Van Solkema earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Grand Valley State University and MBA in finance from Michigan State University.
Scott Wilson is Head of U.S. Integration and Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Private Wealth Management. In these roles, he will support the successful expansion of CIBC’s U.S. Region. Wilson serves on the CIBC U.S. Region Executive Committee.
In his previous role at CIBC he was involved in a transformation program that identified and executed opportunities bank wide to better serve clients, making it easier and simpler for them to engage with the bank and employees. Prior to joining CIBC in 1998, Wilson began his career working for law firms in Washington, D.C. He later joined a global investment bank in New York and Hong Kong as a legal and regulatory advisor to the Emerging Markets division. He joined CIBC in 1998, holding senior roles in Legal and Compliance before heading CIBC’s wholesale banking activities in Europe from 2008 to 2011. He subsequently served as CAO, Wholesale Banking and had responsibilities for coordinating global strategic growth initiatives for that business.
Wilson earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California and a Juris Doctorate from UCLA’s School of Law. He received an MBA issued jointly by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. Wilson is Co-founder and Director of the United Kingdom branch of Seacology, an international environmental and development nonprofit organization that focuses on saving endangered species, habitats and cultures of islands throughout the world. He recently retired from the Board of ACCESS Community Capital Fund, a nonprofit microlending institution serving the Greater Toronto Area. Wilson is a member of the California Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association.
Vicki Znavor is Executive Managing Director and Chief Human Resources Officer for CIBC’s U.S. Region and is a member of the U.S. Region Executive Committee. As Chief Human Resources Officer, Znavor is responsible for the company’s talent strategies and programs, including recruiting, compensation, benefits, engagement and retention, and employee relations.
Znavor held a similar role with The PrivateBank, which was acquired by CIBC in June 2017. Prior to joining The PrivateBank in 2013, Znavor was head of Performance Management at Northern Trust. From 1982 to 2009, she held numerous positions with increasing responsibility at Sara Lee Corporation including Director of Global Executive Compensation, Director of HR, Director of HRIS and HR Communications, Executive Director of Transformation Management and Executive Director of Continuous Improvement. She serves on the board of The American Red Cross of Chicago and Northern Illinois.
Znavor holds a bachelor’s degree from Calumet College of St. Joseph and MBA from DePaul’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business.
120 South LaSalle Street
Chicago, Illinois 60603
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