MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 1, 2013--
U.S. Bank has named Chris Heman market president for the State of
Washington and head of commercial banking in the Puget Sound region
effective March 1. Heman succeeds Ken Kirkpatrick, who is retiring.
Heman has been with U.S. Bank for 20 years, and has led its retail
branch network in the Seattle-Tacoma area since 2005. His team has been
among the top performing regions for U.S. Bank nationwide, and has been
the strongest region for small business lending for several years.
“Washington is a vitally important economy in the Pacific Northwest
where we see tremendous potential for growth,” said Elliot Jaffee,
executive vice president in wholesale banking at U.S. Bank. “Chris has
been a key contributor to U.S. Bank’s success in the Puget Sound area
and is a respected member of the Washington market leadership team. His
knowledge of the region, combined with his experience in banking and
commitment to succeed, make him well suited to this new role.”
Heman earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and advertising from
Southwest Missouri State University and an MBA from the University of
Colorado. He serves as a board member for the Independent Colleges of
Washington and is an advisory board member for Seattle Community
Colleges. Heman and his wife, Jennifer, live in Everett, Wash., with
their two children.
Kirkpatrick will retire after a 41-year career in banking. Kirkpatrick
spent his entire career with U.S. Bank and its predecessor Peoples Bank,
where he started as a teller. Kirkpatrick rose to serve in leadership
positions throughout his career, up to and including his appointment as
president at U.S. Bank in Washington in 2002. Kirkpatrick served for six
years on the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Seattle Branch until
2008. He is chairman emeritus of the board of the Pacific Coast Banking
School in Seattle, and has represented the Seattle business community on
numerous delegations to countries in Europe and Asia. His involvement in
the community is deep, including two terms as board chair at Junior
Achievement and as a two-time chair of ArtsFund.
“Ken is an icon in the Seattle business community, as well as in the
nonprofit sector that he and his wife, SaSa, so ardently support,” said
Richard Davis, chairman, president and chief executive officer of U.S.
Bancorp. “Ken is a motivator, an advocate and an inspiration. We are
grateful for his dedication and leadership, which will live on through
the spirit of community service he has instilled in his employees,
evidenced most recently with more than 240 U.S. Bank volunteers at the
Northwest Harvest food drive this past fall. We wish him the very best
in his retirement.”
With a legacy dating back to the founding of Peoples National Bank of
Washington in 1889, U.S. Bank now has 89 branches and more than 1,400
employees in Seattle. The bank is a proud community partner, providing
more than $1.3 million in local charitable contributions and its
employees volunteered more than 2,300 hours at nonprofit organizations
in the Seattle area. In addition, small business lending at U.S. Bank in
Seattle is up more than 15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012
compared with the same period last year.
U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $354 billion in assets as of Dec. 31,
2012, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the 5th largest commercial
bank in the United States. The company operates 3,084 banking offices in
25 states and 5,065 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking,
brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services
products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp
on the web at usbank.com.
Source: U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bank Public Relations
Teri Charest, (612) 303-0732
teri.charest@usbank.com