Three Top Iowa Financial Services Leaders Position Bank Iowa for Growth

(West Des Moines, Iowa – Jan. 9, 2024) – Bank Iowa today announced new positions for three local financial services leaders within its West Des Moines corporate office. Two of the leaders are joining Bank Iowa; one has received a promotion.

Jessica Ferin is joining the bank as vice president, operations director, while Amber Weger is joining as vice president, treasury management. Both women are Iowa natives who have so far achieved two decades in the banking trade, each having started their careers as bank tellers.

Ferin, whose banking career began in 2005 as a retail banker in Johnston, comes to Bank Iowa from QCR Holdings where she served most recently as first vice president of payments and digital operations. She is a graduate of the Iowa Bankers Leadership and the Ankeny Leadership institutes.

A Cresco native, Ferin has seen the impact community banks can have on people and families in the area. “Bank Iowa has an excellent reputation for taking care of its people,” she said. “The bank’s purpose, vision, and values really spoke to me.”

The values Ferin refers to were formally established at the outset of 2020 in Bank Iowa’s purpose statement: “Empower people. Inspire success. Foster growth.” Since that time, Bank Iowa’s Gallup Q12 engagement survey has consistently tallied high employee engagement rates among its 280 team members.

Weger, of Ankeny, comes to the bank from another community-based financial institution. She made the move from retail to commercial banking in 2011, beginning her career in treasury management as department administrator.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to grow my career while working for a bank that is family-owned and community-focused,” said Weger, who is a board member for Young Variety and a committee chair for the Alzheimer’s Association.

The additions of Weger and Ferin accompany the promotion of Jill Shedek to human resources director. Shedek, originally from Anita, Iowa, most recently served as the bank’s learning and development manager, a post she has held since 2017. During that time, she has contributed to the aforementioned high employee engagement rates, instituted strengths-based leadership training and transformed the bank’s internship program into a highly competitive, dynamic opportunity for aspiring bankers.

“Our philosophy at Bank Iowa has been to maximize development at every opportunity,” said Shedek. “Whether that’s providing professional skills and experiences to an intern or nominating a more tenured employee to serve as a mentor, we look for ways to honor our team members’ time and dedication to the bank.”