Chief Lending Officer

Description

Are you a proven lending executive ready to influence the direction of a growing community bank? Join Lake Ridge Bank as Chief Lending Officer and help lead our next chapter of growth, innovation, and client success.

The Chief Lending Officer (CLO) is responsible for the overall leadership, strategy, growth, profitability, and performance of Lake Ridge Bank's lending function. This role provides enterprise leadership for commercial and agricultural lending activities while ensuring alignment with the Bank's strategic plan, customer experience objectives, and relationship banking culture.

The CLO leads the Bank's relationship banking strategy by ensuring lenders serve as trusted advisors and primary financial relationship managers for clients. This includes developing full banking relationships that incorporate loans, deposits, treasury management services, wealth management services, and other financial solutions that strengthen client relationships, improve relationship profitability, and support long-term franchise value.

The CLO partners closely with the EVP Chief Operating Officer, Chief Credit Officer, President, CEO, and executive leadership team to drive sustainable loan and deposit growth, deepen client relationships, enhance relationship profitability, and strengthen the Bank's market presence. The role serves as a key leader in developing a high-performing lending organization focused on delivering comprehensive financial solutions while supporting long-term growth, profitability, and community impact.

Lending Strategy, Growth, and Relationship Profitability

• Develop and execute Lake Ridge Bank's lending strategy in alignment with the Bank's strategic plan, growth objectives, market opportunities, and profitability goals.
• Establish annual and long-term goals for loan production, deposit growth, relationship profitability, customer retention, and market expansion.
• Lead all lending activities across the organization.
• Drive sustainable growth through effective sales leadership, business development initiatives, relationship management practices, and market development strategies.
• Lead the Bank's relationship-based banking model where lenders serve as trusted advisors and primary financial relationship managers for business clients.
• Establish expectations, performance standards, and accountability measures for lenders related to overall relationship growth, including loans, deposits, treasury management services, wealth management, referrals, and other bank products and services.
• Develop strategies that strengthen relationship profitability by increasing the depth and breadth of customer relationships and promoting primary banking relationships.
• Coordinate closely with Treasury Management, Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Executive Banking, Mortgage, Ag/Crop Insurance, and other business lines to maximize customer value, deposit growth, fee income opportunities, and overall relationship profitability.
• Promote disciplined pricing, relationship management, and portfolio diversification that support competitive positioning and appropriate risk-adjusted returns.
• Monitor loan growth, deposit generation, pricing discipline, profitability, portfolio composition, and key lending performance indicators while identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Maintain awareness of economic conditions, industry trends, competitor activity, and emerging market opportunities that may impact lending strategy or portfolio performance.  

Leadership, Sales Management, and Organizational Effectiveness

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing lending organization focused on growth, accountability, collaboration, and customer service excellence.
• Establish disciplined sales management practices, including calling programs, pipeline management, lender scorecards, production goals, relationship expansion plans, and performance accountability routines.
• Foster a culture that encourages relationship management, business development, teamwork, innovation, continuous improvement, and leadership development.
• Recruit, retain, and develop top lending talent while building a strong succession pipeline for future leadership positions.
• Assess lending team structure, market coverage, production capacity, and talent needs to ensure the organization is positioned to support current and future growth objectives.
• Partner with Human Resources and executive leadership to align lender performance goals, incentive measures, coaching practices, and professional development initiatives with loan growth, deposit growth, treasury management utilization, customer retention, and relationship profitability objectives.
• Serve as a champion of the Bank's culture, values, mission, and customer-focused approach throughout the lending organization.

Portfolio Management, Credit Partnership, and Strategic Leadership

• Partner closely with the Chief Credit Officer to ensure lending activities align with established credit standards, portfolio objectives, risk appetite, and regulatory requirements.
• Support a strong credit culture throughout the lending organization while maintaining alignment between growth objectives and prudent risk management practices.
• Participate in significant lending relationships, strategic growth opportunities, and complex credit discussions while supporting sound credit decision-making.
• Monitor portfolio composition, concentrations, market trends, and emerging risks to support balanced growth and strong portfolio performance.
• Collaborate with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, profitability analysis, relationship profitability metrics, and strategic planning activities.
• Partner with Operations, Credit, Technology, and other business leaders to improve lending workflows, customer experience, pipeline visibility, operational efficiency, and lender productivity.
• Participate in management committees, strategic planning initiatives, pricing discussions, and asset/liability management activities as assigned.
• Prepare and present reports, recommendations, and strategic updates to executive leadership, management committees, and the Board of Directors.
• Serve as a key contributor to enterprise strategic planning, market expansion initiatives, and long-term growth objectives.
• Support compliance with applicable banking regulations, loan policies, internal controls, and supervisory expectations.

Community Leadership and Market Development

• Serve as a visible ambassador of Lake Ridge Bank throughout the communities served by the Bank.
• Build and maintain relationships with business leaders, community organizations, referral partners, and centers of influence.
• Participate in community boards, professional associations, economic development initiatives, and industry organizations.
• Enhance the Bank's reputation and market presence through active involvement in community and business development activities.
• Promote Lake Ridge Bank's mission, values, and commitment to relationship banking throughout the marketplace.
• Perform all other duties as assigned or requested.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business administration, economics, or related field
• Fifteen or more years of progressive banking experience with significant commercial lending and leadership responsibilities.
• Ten or more years of experience in senior management or executive management 
• Demonstrated success leading lending teams and achieving growth, profitability, and relationship development objectives.
• Strong knowledge of commercial lending, portfolio management, relationship banking, banking regulations, and community banking practices.
• Proven ability to develop business, build client relationships, lead teams, and execute strategic initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience managing and developing high-performing sales and lending organizations.
• Strong financial acumen, strategic thinking, business planning, and relationship management capabilities.
• Experience driving both loan and deposit growth through relationship-based banking strategies.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across departments and influence organizational outcomes.
• Demonstrated professionalism, sound judgment, and commitment to customer service excellence.
• Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills (verbal & written) to communicate and relate effectively with associates, leadership, and the Board.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and to provide ownership over own work to get the job done.
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize and remain calm while working in a fast paced/deadline driven environment.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, proficient typing/keyboarding skills and the ability and willingness to learn new programs and software.
• Ability to maintain confidential customer information.
• Ability to read, write, understand and speak English clearly.
• Ability to represent the organization in a professional, positive manner.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA, Graduate School of Banking, or other advanced banking education. 
• Previous experience serving as a Chief Lending Officer, Commercial Banking Executive, Market Executive, Senior Lending Officer, or similar leadership role. 
• Demonstrated success building relationship-based commercial banking teams focused on loan growth, deposit generation, treasury management utilization, and overall relationship profitability. 
• Experience presenting to executive leadership teams and boards of directors and participating in enterprise strategic planning initiatives.

Lake Ridge Bank values a diverse workforce and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Consistent with Lake Ridge Bank's commitment to employ and advance qualified individuals with disabilities, Lake Ridge Bank provides reasonable accommodation to apply for or perform a job. Some examples of reasonable accommodation include alternate methods to apply, providing documents in an alternate format, altering work procedures, specialized equipment or use of an interpreter. If an individual needs reasonable accommodations to apply or perform a job here at Lake Ridge Bank, please contact Human Resources at (608) 849-2700 or email us.