Chuck Sulerzyski of Peoples Bancorp will retire as president and CEO of Peoples Bancorp and its banking subsidiary, Peoples Bank, effective March 31, 2024. He will also retire from the boards of directors of Peoples and Peoples Bank on the same date. Tyler Wilcox will become the next president and CEO of Peoples Bancorp and Peoples Bank, and will be elected as a director of Peoples Bancorp and Peoples Bank, effective April 1, 2024, filling the vacancy created on each board of directors by Sulerzyski’s retirement.
Sulerzyski joined Peoples as president and CEO in April 2011. During his tenure, Peoples has grown from $1.8 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2011, to approximately $8.8 billion in total assets following Peoples’ merger with Limestone Bancorp as of the close of business on April 30, 2023.
Wilcox, who has been an employee of Peoples since 2008, will serve in the position of senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Peoples Bancorp and Peoples Bank in a transitional role before succeeding Sulerzyski upon his retirement. Wilcox has served in a variety of executive positions with Peoples and its subsidiaries over his 15 years with the organization. Since October 2020, he has served as executive vice president of community banking of both Peoples Bancorp and Peoples Bank, where he has been responsible for Peoples Bank’s business lines, including commercial banking, equipment leasing, insurance premium finance, consumer lending, retail and small business banking, trust and investment services and insurance. A search is currently underway for Wilcox’s successor as executive vice president of community banking.
“It has been my great privilege to serve as the leader of Peoples the past 12 years,” Sulerzyski said. “I am proud of the organization we are today and the impact that we have had on our clients and our communities. And I am thrilled that the board has named Tyler as my successor. I have worked closely with Tyler in all aspects of the business during my tenure and am confident that Peoples will thrive under his leadership.”
“I am honored to have been given the opportunity to lead Peoples,” Wilcox said. “And I appreciate the confidence Chuck and the board have shown in me. I look forward to building upon the strong foundation and culture at Peoples as we continue to implement our strategic plans and pursue our vision of becoming the best community bank in America.”
Susan Rector, chairman of the board of directors of Peoples, said that the board has planned for this transition for several years and that Wilcox’s demonstrated leadership and breadth of experience at Peoples made him the ideal successor to Sulerzyski.
“Tyler has excelled in a variety of leadership positions with Peoples and is highly respected within the organization,” Rector said. “We are proud of what Peoples has accomplished over the past 12 years under Chuck’s extraordinary leadership and are optimistic that the future will be even better.”
Prior to serving as executive vice president of community banking for Peoples Bancorp and Peoples Bank, Wilcox served as executive vice president and regional president of Peoples Bank’s south region, president of Peoples Insurance Agency, Peoples Bank’s senior vice president and director of human resources, Peoples Bank’s vice president and director of compensation and benefits, and Peoples Bank’s associate counsel.
