Chief Credit Officer at Lake Ridge Bank – Middleton, Wisconsin

The Chief Credit Officer (CCO) with Lake Ridge Bank is responsible for the overall leadership, governance, and integrity of Lake Ridge Bank’s credit function. This role provides enterprise-wide oversight of credit risk across all lending activities, including loan policy, underwriting and credit administration, loan operations and servicing, and problem loan and workout management.

The CCO partners closely with the EVP, CLO, President, CEO, and Board of Directors to ensure Lake Ridge Bank maintains a high-quality, well-diversified loan portfolio that supports disciplined strategic growth while operating within the Bank’s established credit risk appetite, building credit risk resilience, and fulfilling regulatory expectations. The role plays a critical leadership position in balancing prudent risk management with relationship-based community banking.

Credit Risk Strategy and Board Governance

• Execute Lake Ridge Bank’s credit risk strategy in alignment with the bank’s strategic plan, enterprise risk management (ERM) framework, growth objectives, and Board-approved risk appetite.
• Serve as a key advisor providing independent credit risk perspective on significant and complex credit relationships to the EVP, President, CLO, CEO, and Board of Directors.
• Provide regular reporting to executive management and the Board on asset quality, portfolio concentrations, stress testing results, criticized and classified credits, and emerging credit risks.
• Serve as a standing member of management-level credit, loan, and ERM committees.
• Partner with the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) to coordinate compliance and audit on non—credit risks that intersect with credit risk.
• Operates with independent authority to escalate concerns directly to the President, CEO, Board or Risk Committee when necessary and appropriate.
• Serve as a voting member of the Officers Loan Committee and actively participate in the Directors Loan Committee, contributing strategic insight and credit expertise.

Credit Administration and Underwriting Oversight

• Oversee credit administration and underwriting functions to ensure accurate risk assessment, appropriate credit structure, and adherence to credit policy.
• Establish and maintain underwriting standards, approval authorities, risk rating methodologies, covenant requirements, and documentation expectations.
• Ensure timely and accurate credit analysis for new loans, renewals, and modifications.
• Review, structure and approve loan requests within established loan authorities.
• Provide guidance, feedback, and training to lenders, underwriters, and other credit staff.

Loan Policy Oversight

• Promote and reinforce a strong credit culture emphasizing consistency, accountability, and sound risk management practices in partnership with the CLO.
• Lead development, maintenance, interpretation, and governance of loan policies and credit procedures
• Recommend policy updates to reflect regulatory guidance, economic conditions, portfolio trends, and strategic initiatives.
• Ensure consistent application of loan policy across commercial lending and consumer/mortgage lending.
• Partner with the Chief Lending Officer to support responsible growth, maintain disciplined underwriting standards, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Portfolio Risk Management and Analysis

• Evaluate, categorize, and stress individual credit relationships and the overall loan portfolio.
• Analyze the portfolio for concentrations of risk, emerging adverse trends, potential defaults, and sectors experience financial stress.
• Oversee the development, model validation, and ongoing performance of credit risk and allowance models.
• Monitor local economic conditions, regional and national economic trends, and industry specific risks impacting the bank’s footprint.
• Recommend proactive risk mitigation strategies at both portfolio level and relationship level.
• Provide oversight and governance of credit-related models, assumptions, validations, and ongoing performance monitoring in coordination with Finance, Risk, and third-party vendors.
• Due diligence support for mergers or acquisitions, new product approvals, and industry expansions.
• Partner with Finance to provide governance and oversight of Allowance for Credit Losses (ALLL/CECL), qualitative factor assessments, stress assumptions and impairment analysis, and reserve recommendations to executive management and the Board.

Loan Operations, Servicing, and Documentation

• Provide executive oversight of loan operations, processing, servicing, and documentation.
• Ensure loan documentation is accurate, complete, properly approved, and compliant with policy and regulations.
• Collaborate with operations, compliance, audit, and technology teams.
• Accountable for credit data integrity and quality, loan systems and spreading tool integrity, credit technology and workflow platforms, and reporting accuracy of the loan data used for management, the Board, and regulators.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives related to systems, processes, data quality, and operational risk controls throughout the loan lifecycle.

Problem Loan Management, Workout, and Loss Mitigation

• Oversee identification and management of distressed credits, criticized credits, and classified credits.
• Direct strategies for problem loan resolution, including borrower engagement, loan restructures, collections, foreclosure activity, and legal workout.
• Provide executive oversight of special assets function and OREO function.
• Ensure timely escalation of problem credits, obtaining accurate documentation, and transparent reporting to executive management and the Board.
• Work closely within workout/loss mitigation team members, legal counsel, and external advisors develop and structure effective workout strategies for problem loans, including approving related credit actions within established authority limits.
• Evaluate and approve loan deferrals for distressed credits, ensuring prudent risk management and regulatory compliance.
• Focus on minimizing losses and maximizing recoveries.

Regulatory and Compliance Responsibilities

• Ensure credit activities comply with federal and state banking laws and regulations as well as supervisory guidance.
• Serve as a primary point of contact on credit issues for regulators, auditors, and examiners.
• Lead preparation for credit-related examinations and audits.
• Ensure timely and effective remediation of credit-related findings and examination and audit issues.
• Partner with the Compliance Department to ensure all credit activities adhere to applicable laws, regulations, and regulatory guidance, maintaining strong alignment with supervisory expectations.

Leadership and Collaboration

• Lead and develop a high-performing enterprise credit organization, including team leaders, credit administration associates, loan operations associates, and workout/loss mitigation associates.
• Foster a culture of accountability, sound judgement, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Develop and maintain succession plans for key credit leadership roles.
• Collaborate closely with lending leadership to support strategic growth initiatives and balance relationship banking with prudent risk management.
• Partners across the organization to strengthen enterprise risk management, strategic analysis, credit governance, capital stress testing and limits, and operational effectiveness.
• Perform all other duties as assigned or requested.

Adhere to all Bank Security/Compliance Regulations

• Complete all annual bank security and compliance training
• Adhere to Bank Security/compliance and policy guidelines for loan area.
• Maintain confidentiality of customer information at all times.
• Stay current on all compliance regulations required through training and education.

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business administration, economics, or related field and/or 5+ years previous experience in a similar role.
• Significant progressive experience in banking credit risk management, credit administration, underwriting and/or lending.
• Demonstrated expertise in loan policy development, credit underwriting, portfolio risk management, problem loan and workout management.
• Experience working directly with regulators, auditors, and examiners.
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing cross functional teams, underwriting teams, loan operations, and special assets function.
• Strong working knowledge of banking regulations and supervisory expectations related to credit risk.
• Proven ability to communicate complex credit concepts and present effective to executive leadership and boards.
• Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills (verbal & written) to communicate and relate effectively with associates, leadership, and the Board.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and to provide ownership over own work to get the job done.
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize and remain calm while working in a fast paced/deadline driven environment.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, proficient typing/keyboarding skills and the ability and willingness to learn new programs and software.
• Ability to maintain confidential customer information.
• Ability to read, write, understand and speak English clearly.
• Ability to represent the organization in a professional, positive manner.

Lake Ridge Bank values a diverse workforce and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Consistent with Lake Ridge Bank's commitment to employ and advance qualified individuals with disabilities, Lake Ridge Bank provides reasonable accommodation to apply for or perform a job. Some examples of reasonable accommodation include alternate methods to apply, providing documents in an alternate format, altering work procedures, specialized equipment or use of an interpreter. If an individual needs reasonable accommodations to apply or perform a job here at Lake Ridge Bank, please contact Human Resources at (608) 849-2700 or email us.