5 Hoosier Banker April 2016 FEATURE CEO Ponderings S. Joe DeHaven, Chief Executive Officer, Indiana Bankers Association Amber R. Van Til has been named president of the Indiana Bankers Association, effective March 31. Additionally she has been designated successor to S. Joe DeHaven, chief executive officer of the IBA, in preparation for his upcoming retirement in 2017. Van Til joined the Association in 2002 as a lobbyist and has served as vice president-government relations, as senior vice president-government relations and as executive vice president. She was honored as 2015 Association Professional of the Year by the Indiana Society of Association Executives, and in 2008 she won in the category of Banking & Financial Services for the Best & Brightest awards, sponsored by Junior Achievement of Central Indiana Inc. A graduate of the University of Indianapolis and of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Van Til has completed the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin (UW) and earned the prestigious certificate of executive leadership from the UW Wisconsin School of Business. She serves on the board of directors of the Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corp. and is a member of the Governmental Affairs Society of Indiana, The Columbia Club and the Indiana Society of Association Executives. t VanTil Named IBA President Transitions in life are often difficult. A transition means leaving an area of comfort to enter into the unknown. Think back to how it felt to leave childhood behind to go off to college, the military or the workforce. All we had known to that point was the security of home and school. Though the transition brought the excitement of change, it also brought challenges. With proper planning, however, transitions can go smoothly. Nearly 10 years ago, the Community Bankers Association of Indiana merged with the Indiana Bankers Association, a major transition for the Indiana banking community. Both associations and boards took the time to plan every detail of that merger, and consequently it flowed seamlessly. Now the IBA is at the threshold of another transition. It will have far-reaching effects, but we have been preparing for it for years. Six years ago, we began to formally address IBA succession planning. The executive committee set into motion a plan that was to be updated regularly, so that we would be prepared whenever that day came. Last year the board of directors took the plan a step further and selected Amber Van Til to become the next leader of the IBA. At the March board of directors meeting, Amber was elected president of the Indiana Bankers Association and also named as my successor. As she transitions into this new role, Amber and I will be working together closely to ensure that this will be a seamless transition, as well. Amber is extremely qualified to assume the role as the leader of the IBA, as evidenced by the announcement on this page. She has been with the IBA and its predecessor organization, the CBAI, for nearly 14 years, successfully leading our government relations efforts. It was largely through her work that financial institutions tax reductions have occurred, the Public Deposit Insurance Fund (PDIF) has been protected, and the state is paying back general operating funds that it borrowed from the PDIF years ago. She also has championed tirelessly for legislation to shorten the lengthy foreclosure process in Indiana law, benefiting both Indiana bankers and the community at large. I have worked with Amber throughout her career ‒ hiring her following her graduation from law school ‒ and have enjoyed watching her success and leadership growth. In preparation for this succession, the last couple of years I have been focused on assessing Amber’s leadership skills; I am confident that the board chose wisely. The IBA has been very successful since the aforementioned merger, and Amber played a large role in that success. She recognizes the high skill level of the IBA staff and appreciates the leadership that exists throughout the IBA. She understands the importance of government relations, education and networking that banks value so highly from the IBA menu of services. She understands the importance of the many relationships the IBA has developed with associate members, particularly our Preferred Service Providers. I am proud of Amber and happy for her as she transitions into this new role. Of course that means that I, too, have a transition to make. My banking career started in 1970 in Muncie. In 1990 I left to lead the CBAI, and then I came to the IBA in 2006 as a result of the merger. In 2013 I informed the IBA board of directors that I would be retiring in 2017. While I am still working out the details of my transition to retirement, I can feel myself growing more comfortable with it each day. I intend for it to be a seamless transition, too!
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