People’s Bank Prepares For Transition In Executive Leadership
After more than 20 years, People’s Bank executive management undergoes a transition in leadership due to the recent retirement of the former Chief Financial Officer Russ Milburn and to prepare for the future retirement of its current Chief Executive Officer Ken Trautman, Chief Operating Officer Jeri Reno and Chief Credit Officer John Boyd. All are located at its corporate branch at 1528 Biddle Road in Medford.
Two recent promotions of Julia Beattie to president and Lindsey Trautman to chief financial officer are significant steps in passing the torch, which has been under Mr. Trautman’s direction since the bank’s inception in 1998.
“People’s Bank began planning for the retirement of four of our executive officers many years ago and we are very pleased to begin that process with the promotion of both Julia and Lindsey,” commented Ken Trautman, People’s Bank’s CEO. “They understand the culture of People’s Bank and are prepared for their new positions. We are fortunate to have such smart and talented professionals at the bank who can seamlessly transition into these positions.”
In May, Ms. Trautman took over the position as the bank’s CFO following the retirement of the bank’s former CFO, Russ Milburn, who served since 2007. Julia Beattie was recently promoted to president and will be working alongside Mr. Trautman who will retain the role of chief executive officer for the bank until his retirement within the next few years.
Ms. Beattie began her banking career in 1991 at Union National Bank of Texas. After moving to Oregon in 1992, she joined the lending team at Western Bank (headquartered in Medford, OR) where she worked until 2000. In 2003 she went to work for South Valley Bank and Trust (headquartered in Klamath Falls, OR) until joining People’s Bank in 2013.
Ms. Beattie graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1984 and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas in 1986. In 2018, she graduated with honors from the Pacific Coast Banking School.
As People’s Bank’s planned CEO successor, Ms. Beattie will work to build on the bank’s past success. “People’s Bank has a five year strategic plan to grow and diversify our bank to continue to be a strong, viable, sustainable community bank supporting local businesses,” she said.
A Rogue Valley native, Ms. Trautman has held various positions at the financial institution including credit analyst, accounting specialist, accountant, and most recently controller before earning the position as chief financial officer.
In 2017, Trautman earned a Financial Managers School certificate from the Graduate School of Banking and University of Wisconsin. She graduated with honors from the University of Colorado’s Graduate School of Banking in 2014, and received her Bachelor of Science degree, Summa Cum Laude, from Southern Oregon University in management accounting.
Mr. Trautman was founder and president of People’s Bank from 1998 until 2008, when he succeeded as president and CEO, after Mike Sickels retired. Formerly, Mr. Trautman worked with Western Bank as senior vice president and regional administrator for Southern Oregon, before it was purchased by Washington Mutual in 1996. He has been instrumental in leading People’s Bank from $27 million in assets in 2000 to $494 million at June 30, 2020.
Aligning with the bank’s mission, Mr. Trautman, Ms. Beattie and Ms. Trautman all serve various charitable and community organizations.
Disclosure – Southern Oregon Business Journal Publisher Jim Teece Proudly Serves on the People’s Bank Board
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