A new president and CEO will soon take the reins at a Dubuque bank, filling a role that will be vacated when the current president and CEO ascends to a leadership position with that bank’s holding company.
Tyson Leyendecker will replace Tut Fuller as Dubuque Bank & Trust’s president and CEO effective Thursday, July 1. At that time, Fuller will become regional president at Dubuque-based HTLF, the holding company for DB&T.
Fuller has served as president and CEO since 2017, presiding during a period in which DB&T made significant strides.
Since 2017, DB&T has increased profits by approximately 60%, grown deposits by about 50% and increased its market share in Dubuque by around 8%. Total assets now stand at about $1.9 billion.
As he prepares to take over as president and CEO, Leyendecker emphasized the importance of building upon the bank’s existing foundation in Dubuque and strengthening its presence in newer markets, namely Cedar Rapids and Des Moines.
“I want to maintain and respect what we have in Dubuque. That is very, very important to us,” he said. “But we also want to look at, ‘How do we continue to (establish) our foothold on the state of Iowa?’”
Leyendecker has more than 15 years of experience in the banking industry. Prior to coming to Dubuque, he worked at Wells Fargo in Phoenix, Ariz., and served as a commercial banker at Arizona Bank & Trust and Citywide Banks, both of which are under the umbrella of HTLF.
Since arriving in Dubuque, he has served on the board of directors for the Dubuque Racing Association and the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as serving on the finance committee for Holy Family Schools. He believes these roles have helped him understand the community he will be serving in his new position.
“(Serving in volunteer roles) means giving back in a meaningful, impactful way,” he said. “It allows you to opine and give financial expertise when needed, and it also means we have a seat at the table with other like-minded individuals. It really rounds out our perspective on the community.”
In his new role, Fuller will oversee all banking operations at HTLF’s franchises in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas and Texas.
HTLF, formerly known as Heartland Financial, has experienced a meteoric rise in recent years. The holding company surpassed $10 billion in assets in early 2018 and has reached $18.2 billion in assets.
Fuller emphasized that he will continue to reside in Dubuque while carrying out his new role. He acknowledged that he’ll be assuming the new position at a time of noteworthy shifts in the way banking is conducted.
“The increase we see in mobile and online technology is going to continue, if not come faster,” he said. “I think what’s important is that the changes are coupled with a team-based approach. Banking is done best when a team of experts come together and problem solve and create value for a client.”