FirstBank, a privately-held bank with a focus on “banking for good,” has elevated several leaders across the retail, credit, security and IT departments, including its new chief risk officer (CRO) Jennifer Payne.
Payne has been with the bank for 23 years and has worked in various leadership roles across the company, including president of compliance and, most recently, president of loan servicing before she was appointed chief risk officer.
As CRO, Payne will oversee FirstBank’s compliance, security, loan review, risk management, legal and anti-money laundering departments.
“Jennifer’s ascent to CRO is a testament to her dedication and experience. As the former president of compliance, Jennifer saw risk management and compliance as a way to not only benefit the company, but also safeguard our customers,” Kevin Classen, CEO of FirstBank, said. “We’re confident that under Jennifer’s guidance, FirstBank will continue to thrive and carry on its mission.”
The bank also promoted several leaders across its credit, retail, security and IT departments:
Ryan Blake was promoted to president of loan servicing and will backfill the role previously held by Payne. Blake has been with the bank for 14 years and most recently served as an executive vice president in Commercial Credit.
Aubrey Ebbs was named Cherry Creek market president. Ebbs has been with the bank for 18 years and most recently served as an executive vice president in the East Market, where she managed complex commercial real estate projects.
Adam Ingersoll was promoted to executive vice president in the North Metropolitan area. Ingersoll has over 12 years of experience at FirstBank and expertise in operations, commercial real estate, business acquisition, equipment and fleet financing.
The following individuals were promoted from senior directors to managing directors in security and IT:
- Brenden Smith, who also holds the position of chief information security officer at FirstBank, has been responsible for executing FirstBank’s cybersecurity strategy for over a decade.
- Kate Liosis has over 16 years of management experience. She will continue to play a key role in leading and developing FirstBank’s high-performing technology teams.
- Brian Dennehy has been with the bank for 26 years and is dedicated to driving and implementing key technology initiatives.
- Ryan Buerger has over 23 years of IT experience and is focused on cloud adoption and providing secure and consistent customer experience.
“These leaders have all made tremendous contributions to FirstBank over their careers,” Classen said. “Their promotions represent FirstBank’s ongoing commitment to improving digital banking innovations, accessibility and security for customers and businesses alike.”
