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The Oregon Bankers Association (OBA) is pleased to announce the election of Julia Banks, Wells Fargo; Julia Beattie, People’s Bank of Commerce; Randell Leach, Beneficial State Bank; Dan LaCoste, WaFd Bank; and Jim Schlotfeldt, First Federal, to its board of directors. Schlotfeldt will serve in an ex officio capacity as chair of OBA’s Community Bank Advisory Council. Julia Banks serves as regional branch network executive and senior vice president for Wells Fargo, overseeing branch network operations across Washington, Oregon and Nevada, including nine districts, 128 branches and more than 1,000 employees. She joined Wells Fargo in 2005 and has held a variety of leadership roles in branch banking, including 13 years as a district senior manager. Banks earned a business degree in bank management from Pacific Coast Banking School and the University of Washington Foster School of Business. She is active in the community, serving on the executive board of the Portland Metro Chamber and Raphael House. Julia Beattie is president and CEO of People’s Bank of Commerce. She has worked in community banking in the Rogue Valley since 1992, holding senior commercial lending and executive leadership roles before becoming president and CEO in 2023. Beattie earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Baylor University and an MBA from the University of Texas. She is active in several community organizations and currently serves on the Safety & Soundness Committee of the Independent Community Bankers of America, is chair of the People’s Bank of Commerce Foundation, and is serving the second year of a three-year term as a director of the Portland Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Randell Leach is chief executive officer of Beneficial State Bank. With 30 years of experience in financial services, he brings expertise in finance, operations, commercial banking and new market development. Leach previously served in executive roles with ShoreBank Pacific and founded Mox Inc., a financial technology company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of San Diego and completed professional certification through the Pacific Rim Bankers Program at the University of Washington. He is active in nonprofit leadership and community sustainability initiatives in Portland. Dan LaCoste is executive director of business banking for WaFd Bank, where he oversees business banking teams across the West Coast. He began his banking career in 1997 and joined WaFd Bank in 2019. With nearly three decades of experience, LaCoste has held senior leadership roles focused on supporting local businesses, strengthening teams and driving regional growth. He is a graduate of Oregon State University and Pacific Coast Banking School and is active in nonprofit and community leadership, including service as a United Way campaign chair and board chair for several community organizations. Jim Schlotfeldt is president and chief executive officer of First Federal, where he has served since 2014 after joining the bank as chief financial officer in 2012. With more than 40 years of financial services experience, he oversees corporate strategy, capital management, regulatory and social responsibility activities for the bank. Schlotfeldt earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Portland. He is active in community and industry leadership, serving on the Yamhill County Investment Committee and the board of St. Vincent de Paul in McMinnville, and previously served on the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Twelfth District Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council. “We are excited to welcome Julia Banks, Julia Beattie, Randell, Dan and Jim to the OBA Board of Directors,” said OBA President and CEO Scott Bruun. “Their collective leadership, deep banking expertise and commitment to Oregon communities will strengthen our board and help advance the interests of our member banks across the state.”
The Oregon Bankers Association (OBA) is pleased to announce the election of Julia Banks, Wells Fargo; Julia Beattie, People’s Bank of Commerce; Randell Leach, Beneficial State Bank; Dan LaCoste, WaFd Bank; and Jim Schlotfeldt, First Federal, to its board of directors. Schlotfeldt will serve in an ex officio capacity as chair of OBA’s Community Bank Advisory Council.
Julia Banks serves as regional branch network executive and senior vice president for Wells Fargo, overseeing branch network operations across Washington, Oregon and Nevada, including nine districts, 128 branches and more than 1,000 employees. She joined Wells Fargo in 2005 and has held a variety of leadership roles in branch banking, including 13 years as a district senior manager. Banks earned a business degree in bank management from Pacific Coast Banking School and the University of Washington Foster School of Business. She is active in the community, serving on the executive board of the Portland Metro Chamber and Raphael House.
Julia Beattie is president and CEO of People’s Bank of Commerce. She has worked in community banking in the Rogue Valley since 1992, holding senior commercial lending and executive leadership roles before becoming president and CEO in 2023. Beattie earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Baylor University and an MBA from the University of Texas. She is active in several community organizations and currently serves on the Safety & Soundness Committee of the Independent Community Bankers of America, is chair of the People’s Bank of Commerce Foundation, and is serving the second year of a three-year term as a director of the Portland Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Randell Leach is chief executive officer of Beneficial State Bank. With 30 years of experience in financial services, he brings expertise in finance, operations, commercial banking and new market development. Leach previously served in executive roles with ShoreBank Pacific and founded Mox Inc., a financial technology company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of San Diego and completed professional certification through the Pacific Rim Bankers Program at the University of Washington. He is active in nonprofit leadership and community sustainability initiatives in Portland.
Dan LaCoste is executive director of business banking for WaFd Bank, where he oversees business banking teams across the West Coast. He began his banking career in 1997 and joined WaFd Bank in 2019. With nearly three decades of experience, LaCoste has held senior leadership roles focused on supporting local businesses, strengthening teams and driving regional growth. He is a graduate of Oregon State University and Pacific Coast Banking School and is active in nonprofit and community leadership, including service as a United Way campaign chair and board chair for several community organizations.
Jim Schlotfeldt is president and chief executive officer of First Federal, where he has served since 2014 after joining the bank as chief financial officer in 2012. With more than 40 years of financial services experience, he oversees corporate strategy, capital management, regulatory and social responsibility activities for the bank. Schlotfeldt earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Portland. He is active in community and industry leadership, serving on the Yamhill County Investment Committee and the board of St. Vincent de Paul in McMinnville, and previously served on the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Twelfth District Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council.
“We are excited to welcome Julia Banks, Julia Beattie, Randell, Dan and Jim to the OBA Board of Directors,” said OBA President and CEO Scott Bruun. “Their collective leadership, deep banking expertise and commitment to Oregon communities will strengthen our board and help advance the interests of our member banks across the state.”