CEO will retire
KITTANNING — Richard J. Krauland, CEO and president of NexTier Bank, will retire this year. He will stay on until his successor is hired.
The bank is initiating a search process and expects to consider both internal and external candidates, according to a company news release.
He has been the CEO since 2005 and has spent more than 40 years in the financial services industry.
Krauland began his career in 1976 as a financial analyst at Equibank after receiving his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
“This is purely a personal decision. My father passed away when he was 63 years old, and I will be turning 63 this year,” said Krauland in the release.
“In 2005, when I joined the Farmers National Bank of Kittanning, it had three locations and about $150 million in assets.
“Our industry has lived through the so-called Great Recession, historically low interest rates, and major increases in the regulatory burden. Despite all of that, we have grown our bank nearly eight times over.”
Mark Snyder, a principal at Snyder Associated Companies and NexTier board member, said, “On behalf of NexTier’s Board of Directors, I would like to recognize Rich’s significant leadership during a challenging time in the financial services industry.
“His leadership and vision helped us create one of the fastest-growing and well-run banking institutions in Southwestern PA.”
Krauland is looking forward to pursuing his hobbies of competitive bridge and golf.
NexTier, which has its corporate office in Kittanning, includes NexTier Bank, NexTier Wealth Management, and ESS NexTier Insurance.
It has 26 offices in Allegheny, Butler and Armstrong counties.
It has total assets of $1.15 billion, total loans of $863 million and total deposits of $939 million.
In September 2015 NexTier signed a $35 million merger agreement with Eureka Bank of Pittsburgh.
The deal marked the second merger NexTier went through, after a deal in 2014 that combined NexTier and the former Farmers & Merchants Bank of Western PA in Kittanning.
