Benjamin J. Bochnowski, chairman and CEO of Peoples Bank, Munster, and the bank’s holding company Finward Bancorp, has taken his seat as 2024 chairman of the Indiana Bankers Association Board of Directors.
Bochnowski serves on the board of directors for the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions, a position he was appointed to by Gov. Eric J. Holcomb in 2019. He is a member of the Membership Council of the American Bankers Association and serves locally on the boards for One Region and Allies for Community Business.
Bochnowski earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan; an MBA from the ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain; and is a graduate of the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He was honored in 2020 as a Rising Star in Banking by BankBeat magazine.
This year’s board is comprised of:
IBA Officers
Benjamin J. Bochnowski, Chairman, Peoples Bank, Munster
Matthew W. Howrey, First Vice Chairman, North Salem State Bank
David M. Findlay, Second Vice Chairman, Lake City Bank, Warsaw
Jamie R. Shinabarger, Immediate Past Chairman, Springs Valley Bank & Trust Company, Jasper
Amber R. Van Til, President and CEO, Indiana Bankers Association
Constituent Directors
Garry D. Kleer, ABA Membership Council, First Bank Richmond
Kent A. Liechty, ICBA State Director, First Bank of Berne
Karen B. Woods, Non-Indiana Headquartered Bank Director, First Financial Bank, Cincinnati
Michael J. Clampitt, Future Leadership Division President, North Salem State Bank
Regional and At-Large Directors
Mark “Doc” Holt, At-Large, First Farmers Bank & Trust Co., Converse
Nicole S. Lorch, At-Large, First Internet Bank, Fishers
J. Daniel Maddox, North Region, Citizens State Bank, New Castle
Bradley J. Monts, North Region, Hoosier Heartland State Bank, Crawfordsville
Jacqueline M. Ruge-Perkins, North Region, First State Bank of Porter
Lisa Arnold, South Region, Home Bank, Martinsville
Mark E. Bruin, South Region, The National Bank of Indianapolis
Eric Lane, South Region, First Federal Savings Bank of Washington
Bochnowski and the Board were elected Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, during the IBA Annual Convention in French Lick, but assumed their positions effective Jan. 1, 2024. Nicole Lorch was appointed to her position to fill a vacancy Jan. 23.
ABOUT THE CHAIRMAN
Benjamin J. Bochnowski is chairman and CEO of Peoples Bank, Munster, and Finward Bancorp. He also serves on the board of directors of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions, a position he was appointed to by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2019. Bochnowski joined Peoples Bank in 2010 and the Finward Bancorp board of directors in 2014. He was named president and chief operating officer of Peoples Bank in 2015, and he was promoted to CEO of the bank and holding company in 2016.
Bochnowski serves locally on the boards of directors of One Region and Allies for Community Business. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan; an MBA from the ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain; and a leadership certificate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, he is a graduate of the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking and was honored in 2020 as a Rising Star in Banking by BankBeat magazine.
Biographies of all IBA board members are available online at indiana.bank/about. Headshots available upon request.