For more information, contact:
Eric Skrum, Wisconsin Bankers Association, 608/441-1216, eskrum@wisbank.com
(MADISON) – The Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Rose Oswald Poels, current senior vice president and counsel of WBA, the state’s largest financial industry trade group, has been selected to lead the association.
Robert Just, Jr., president/CEO, Mound City Bank, Platteville, and Chairman of the WBA Board of Directors, stated today that the Board, after a comprehensive, nationwide search, unanimously selected Oswald Poels to the position of WBA president and CEO.
Oswald Poels has worked for the WBA and the banking industry for over twenty years. She began full-time as an associate director—legal in 1993. As WBA’s senior vice president and counsel, she managed the communications, education, member relations and legal departments of the association in addition to being a registered lobbyist and general counsel for WBA’s largest subsidiary, Financial Institution Products Corporation®.
“We are extremely pleased to have Rose Oswald Poels lead the WBA as our next president and CEO,” said Just. “She has been a part of the banking industry for over two decades. With her unique banking and legal background, she has a wealth of experience which makes her the ideal candidate to lead this 119-year-old trade association.”
“It is an honor to be selected as the new president/CEO of the WBA,” said Oswald Poels. “Banks are the heart and soul of their communities, helping businesses to grow and individuals to realize their dreams. I am proud to represent an industry so vital to our society.”
Oswald Poels received her B.A. with honors from Michigan State University and her JD from the University of Wisconsin – Madison Law School. She is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin and the American Bar Association. Oswald Poels begins working in her new role June 1, 2011.
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The Wisconsin Bankers Association is the state’s largest financial industry trade association, representing 300 commercial banks and savings institutions, their nearly 2,300 branch offices and 28,000 employees.
