Lincoln Bancorp in Reinbeck, Iowa, has named Sean Willett as CEO of the company and its bank subsidiary, Lincoln Savings Bank.
Willett, who has served as chief administrative officer at the $6.1 billion-asset Financial Institutions in Warsaw, New York, since August 2017, will take the helm at the $1.9 billion-asset Lincoln next week.
Financial Institutions announced Willett's impending departure earlier this month. It was part of a
At Lincoln, Willett will succeed Erik Skovgard, who resigned in June after nearly a decade as CEO. Emily Girsch, who has served as interim CEO since Skovgard's departure, will resume her position as chief financial officer.
"I am honored and excited to lead Lincoln Savings Bank into the next phase of its journey," Willett said last week in a press release. "I am committed to building upon the solid foundation that Emily Girsch and the entire team have established. Together, we will drive profitability, growth, and continued success for our employees, customers, and shareholders."
Willett's responsibilities at Financial Institutions were wide-reaching. He was responsible for corporate strategy, digital banking and the company's
Lincoln's assets grew from $817 million to $1.9 billion during Skovgard's CEO tenure. While the 121-year-old Lincoln was consistently profitable during that time, earnings did decline the past two years as both funding and operational costs increased sharply. After reporting record net income of $17 million in 2021, the company saw its profit drop to $3 million in 2022, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. For the first nine months of 2023, net income totaled $1 million.
