California Bank & Trust Promotes Ellingsen to CEO



California Bank & Trust (CB&T) promoted Eric Ellingsen from president and COO to CEO. Ellingsen will continue his role as president while taking on new leadership responsibilities as CEO. He will continue to oversee the growth of the bank across California, including direct oversight of its commercial banking division. David E. Blackford will transition from his role as prior CEO to executive chairman, with continuing responsibility for the bank’s commercial real estate portfolio.

Ellingsen has been with CB&T for 20 years. He began his career trajectory at CB&T in a four-month temporary role as a junior accountant that led to a permanent position within the company. From there, he took on more senior roles handling risk management, regulatory compliance, international banking and asset/liability management. In 2012, he was promoted to CFO and was responsible for the overall financial management of the company. In 2016, he rose to the position of president and COO. In this role, he oversaw business and branch banking, SBA lending, private banking, corporate services, and the bank’s finance and planning functions.

“Eric has been an invaluable asset to CB&T for more than 20 years,” Blackford said. “He has made important contributions not only at CB&T, but at the larger Zions Bancorporation level as well, and has been a big part of CB&T’s consistently strong financial performance throughout the years. As I begin my new path as executive chairman, I couldn’t imagine anyone else taking on the role of CEO. I look forward to witnessing Eric’s continued achievement in 2021 and beyond.”

In his new role as president and CEO, Ellingsen will manage the credit and lending process alongside Blackford and will oversee the commercial banking division and take a seat on the Zions Bancorporation executive committee. Since this transition has been part of long-standing succession plans, most other responsibilities of the role have already been shifted to Ellingsen in recent years.

“I’m proud to be carrying on the incredible legacy David has built through the years,” Ellingsen said. “He has been a terrific leader and mentor and is arguably one of the most talented bankers I’ve encountered. The credit culture he’s built at CB&T will be part of his lasting legacy, and while his are large shoes to fill, we’ve built an incredible team at CB&T and I’m confident our best years are still to come. I look forward to the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead to continue to grow the bank, invest in our people, serve our clients and make a positive difference in the community.”

Ellingsen recently served as the chairman of the board for the Western Bankers Association. He was recognized as the CFO of the Year – Large Public Company in 2014 by the San Diego Business Journal, which also named him to the San Diego 500 – Top Most Influential Business Leaders in San Diego in 2018 and 2020. Ellingsen also was named to the Top 50 Most Influential in San Diego in 2013 by the San Diego Daily Transcript.


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