Bank of Choice hires top exec from KeyBank

GREELEY – Debbie Jessup is key to Bank of Choice’s growth plans.

That’s why the Greeley-based bank hired Jessup away from KeyBank, where she was president of its Colorado district operations. Jessup will serve as president for Bank of Choice Holding Co., as well as president of its Denver market.

But that doesn’t mean banking maven Darrell McAllister will retire any time soon.

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“Not at all,” he said. “They’re stuck with me for a while.”

McAllister will continue to serve as chairman and CEO of the holding company, as well as president for Bank of Choice. McAllister stepped in as president of Bank of Choice – named Weld County Bank at the time – in 2002 when founding president Ed Capra decided to retire. Prior to that, McAllister had launched 1st Choice Bank in Greeley and sold it to Wells Fargo & Co.

Today, Bank of Choice Holding Co. owns fours banks – Bank of Choice, Bank of Choice Colorado, Palisades Bank and Colonial Bank – and is approaching $1 billion in total assets. After completing the recent acquisition of First National Bank of Arvada, Bank of Choice’s assets total more than $866 million, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Jessup’s hire signifies the growing importance of the Denver market, while at the same time reinforcing the bank’s focus on Northern Colorado.

“Denver is definitely an important piece, but Northern Colorado is still the biggest part of our market,” McAllister explained.

Bringing Jessup on board will allow McAllister to spend more time with Northern Colorado customers. Bank of Choice entered the Denver market last year with the purchase of Aurora-based Colonial Bank Shares. The bank finalized the purchase of First Bank of Arvada on March 17 – and gave it the name of Bank of Choice Colorado. Colonial will also come under the Bank of Choice Colorado name.

In hiring Jessup, McAllister said the bank was looking for someone who had strong ties in the Denver market, especially the downtown area.

“We realized we needed a strong leader in Denver,” he explained. “I can go to Denver and be somewhat involved, but there are only so many hours in the day.”

After an extensive search netting four finalists, Jessup stood out as the right choice. As KeyBank’s Colorado district president, Jessup was responsible for sales, service and strategy for 51 branch locations and almost 700 employees, according to a Bank of Choice newsletter. She also serves a number of business organizations, including acting as chair of the Denver Metro Chamber Capitol 2006 Initiative, and board member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Denver Metro Chamber Foundation.

With Jessup in place, the bank is moving forward with expansion plans in Denver. Locations are being scouted for a downtown Denver location. The bank hired two senior lenders, Mike Alcott and Ken Boggs, to staff the branch.

Both Alcott and Boggs previously worked at Bank of the West. Like many community banks, Bank of Choice has picked up a number of executives from larger banks.

“There’s some great talent in the big banks,” McAllister said.

In Northern Colorado, KeyBank lost Dianna Vasa last year to Capital West Bank where she now serves as president. Bank of Choice picked up Jim Barnett from Wells Fargo to serve as the president of its Fort Collins market. With talent at a premium, competition for experienced executives will continue.

With McAllister’s attention refocused in Northern Colorado, the bank appears ready to continue with expansion plans in the region. The bank owns land in Brighton and in Loveland. McAllister said construction plans for the Brighton location are likely to come “off the back burner” in the fall. Additionally, McAllister is looking for opportunities to grow in Fort Collins.

“We continue to look for the right spot,” he said.