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Executive Officers
Robert G. Sarver Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Robert G. Sarver has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Western Alliance since December 2002. Mr. Sarver has also served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Torrey Pines Bank since May 2003. Mr. Sarver organized and founded National Bank of Arizona in 1984 and served as President at the time of the sale of that bank in 1994 to Zions Bancorporation. Mr. Sarver was the lead investor and Chief Executive Officer of GB Bancorporation, the former parent company of Grossmont Bank, from 1995 to 1997. Mr. Sarver served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of California Bank and Trust and as an Executive Vice President with Zions Bancorporation from June 1998 to March 2001 and had oversight for Vectra Bank, Colorado during such time. He served as a director and credit committee member of Zions Bancorporation from 1995 to 2001. Mr. Sarver is a director and audit committee member of Skywest Airlines and a director of Meritage Homes Corporation. He is also the Managing Partner of the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team and a member of the board of directors of the Japanese American National Museum and the Sarver Heart Center at the University of Arizona.
Patricia A. Taylor Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer
Patricia A. Taylor has been the Chief Risk Officer and Executive Vice President of the Company since June 2010. She previously served as Senior Vice President and Compliance Officer for PacWest Bancorp from April 2004 to June 2010. From 1994 to 2004, Ms. Taylor worked as a Director of Internal Audit Outsourcing for KPMG in which she was responsible for the ongoing management and supervision of outsourced internal audit engagement for multiple financial services clients. Ms. Taylor also spent 10 years as a National Bank Examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and has 28 years of financial services industry experience.
Dale M. Gibbons Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Dale Gibbons has been the Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Vice President of Western Alliance and Bank of Nevada since May 2003 and July 2004, respectively. Mr. Gibbons has 24 years of experience in commercial banking, including serving as Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of the Board of Zions Bancorporation from August 1996 to June 2001. From 1979 to 1996, Mr. Gibbons worked for First Interstate Bancorp in a variety of retail banking and financial management positions.
Randall S. Theisen Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Randall S. Theisen has served as General Counsel of Western Alliance since February 2006, and has been an Executive Vice President of the Company since February 2013. Prior to joining Western Alliance, Mr. Theisen spent more than 20 years in private practice representing financial institutions in banking, corporate and financial services law, including serving as the head of the Financial Institutions Practice Group of a major Phoenix-based law firm. He was named a "Leading Lawyer 2006" and "Best of the Bar 2005" among banking attorneys by The Business Journal of Phoenix. Mr. Theisen received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his J.D. with honors from the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law at Arizona State University, where he served as writer and editor of the law review among other academic distinctions.
Duane Froeschle Executive Vice President - Credit Administration
Duane Froeschle has been the Executive Vice President of Credit Administration for the Company since February 2011. He also serves as the President of Western Alliance Bank. Mr. Froeschle served as Chief Credit Officer of the Company from 2002 to 2011, served as Vice Chairman of Alliance Bank of Arizona from 2002 to 2010, and was the Chief Credit Officer of Alliance Bank of Arizona from 2002 to 2007. He is also a director of Western Alliance Equipment Finance. Mr. Froeschle has 35 years of experience in commercial banking. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Froeschle held various positions with National Bank of Arizona from June 1987 to June 2002, including Chief Credit Officer from June 1997 to December 2001.
Gerald Cady Executive Vice President - Southern California Administration
Gary Cady has been the Executive Vice President of California Administration and President of Torrey Pines Bank since May 2003. Mr. Cady was also a director of Western Alliance from June 2003 to April 2005. Mr. Cady has 28 years of commercial banking experience, most recently as Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for California Bank and Trust in San Diego from August 1987 to February 2003. Mr. Cady is a director of Grossmont Hospital Corporation and a board member of the San Diego East County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
James H. Lundy III Executive Vice President - Arizona Administration
James Lundy has been the Executive Vice President of Arizona Administration and President and Chief Executive Officer of Alliance Bank of Arizona since February 2003. Mr. Lundy was also a director of Western Alliance from February 2003 to March 2005. From June 1991 to June 2002, Mr. Lundy served as Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President of National Bank of Arizona, and from December 2000 to June 2002, as Vice Chairman of National Bank of Arizona. Most recently, Mr. Lundy oversaw National Bank of Arizona's commercial banking function on a statewide basis, with direct responsibility for over $1 billion in commercial loan commitments, executive oversight of marketing and overall supervision of approximately 100 employees involved in commercial banking and marketing throughout Arizona.
Merrill S. Wall Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
Merrill S. Wall has been the Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Vice President of Western Alliance since February 2005. Mr. Wall has 35 years of banking experience, most recently as Executive Vice President and Director of Human Resources for Zions Bancorporation and its subsidiary, California Bank & Trust, from October 1998 to February 2005. From 1987 to 1998, Mr. Wall worked for H.F. Ahmanson/Home Savings of America as a senior executive managing both human resources and training corporate-wide. Mr. Wall also spent 17 years with First Interstate Bancorp in a variety of commercial, retail and administrative positions.
Bruce Hendricks Executive Vice President - Southern Nevada Administration
Mr. Hendricks is President and CEO of Bank of Nevada and EVP Southern Nevada Administration for Western Alliance. Mr. Hendricks was named President of Bank of Nevada in 2007 and served as EVP/Regional President of the bank’s Sahara Regional Office since joining the bank in 2000. He began his career in 1969 in Las Vegas, and served as President/COO of American Bank of Commerce in Las Vegas and EVP of First Security Bank of Nevada before joining Bank of Nevada.
Robert R. McAuslan Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer
Robert R. McAuslan is Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of Western Alliance Bancorporation. Mr. McAuslan has over 25 years experience in senior credit administration positions and prior to joining Western Alliance, was Senior Credit Executive for the western U.S. markets with Mutual of Omaha Bank since November 2008. From 2000 to 2008, he was Executive Vice President/Senior Credit Officer for western U.S. markets for BBVA/Compass Bank. Earlier, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for H.F. Ahmanson/Home Savings of America from 1996-1999. Mr. McAuslan graduated from Northeastern University and received an MBA from Wharton Graduate Division, University of Pennsylvania.
Board of Directors
Robert G. Sarver Chairman
Robert G. Sarver has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Western Alliance since December 2002. Mr. Sarver has also served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Torrey Pines Bank since May 2003. Mr. Sarver organized and founded National Bank of Arizona in 1984 and served as President at the time of the sale of that bank in 1994 to Zions Bancorporation. Mr. Sarver was the lead investor and Chief Executive Officer of GB Bancorporation, the former parent company of Grossmont Bank, from 1995 to 1997. Mr. Sarver served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of California Bank and Trust and as an Executive Vice President with Zions Bancorporation from June 1998 to March 2001 and had oversight for Vectra Bank, Colorado during such time. He served as a director and credit committee member of Zions Bancorporation from 1995 to 2001. Mr. Sarver is a director and audit committee member of Skywest Airlines and a director of Meritage Homes Corporation. He is also the Managing Partner of the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team and a member of the board of directors of the Japanese American National Museum and the Sarver Heart Center at the University of Arizona.
Bruce D. Beach Lead Director
Bruce Beach has been a director of Western Alliance since April 2005. Mr. Beach has been a director of Alliance Bank of Arizona since its formation. Mr. Beach has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Beach, Fleischman & Co., P.C., an accounting and business advisory firm in Southern Arizona, since May 1991. Mr. Beach is a certified public accountant, received a BS in business administration and an MBA from the University of Arizona, and has 31 years of experience in public accounting. Mr. Beach also has been the Vice-Chairman of Carondelet Health Network, one of the largest hospital systems in Southern Arizona, since July 2004 and has served as the chairman of its audit committee since July 2003.
William S. Boyd
William S. Boyd has been a director and principal shareholder of Western Alliance since inception and was a founder of its first bank, Bank of Nevada. Mr. Boyd has served as a director of Boyd Gaming Corporation since its inception in June 1988 and as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since August 1998. He served as a director of Nevada State Bank from 1965 to 1985. Mr. Boyd played a leading role in founding the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Mr. Boyd is the father of director Marianne Boyd Johnson.
Steven J. Hilton
Steven J. Hilton has been a director of Western Alliance and Alliance Bank of Arizona since December 2002 and February 2003, respectively. Mr. Hilton was the co-founder, and is the Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Meritage Homes Corporation. Mr. Hilton founded Arizona-based Monterey Homes in 1985. Under Mr. Hilton's leadership, Monterey became a publicly traded company and combined with Legacy Homes in 1997, resulting in the creation of Meritage Homes Corporation. Mr. Hilton received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Arizona.
Marianne Boyd Johnson
Marianne Boyd Johnson has served as a founding director of Western Alliance and Bank of Nevada since their establishment in 1995 and 1994, respectively. Since 1992, Ms. Johnson has been a member of the Board of Directors of Boyd Gaming Corporation and has served as its Vice Chairman of the Board and Senior Vice President since February 2001 and December 2001, respectively. Ms. Johnson has served Boyd Gaming since 1977 in a variety of capacities, including sales and marketing. Ms. Johnson served as a Director of Nevada Community Bank until its sale to First Security Bank (Wells Fargo) in 1993. Ms. Johnson is the daughter of director William S. Boyd.
Cary Mack
Cary Mack has been a director of Western Alliance since April 2005. Mr. Mack has been a director of Torrey Pines Bank since its formation in May 2003. Mr. Mack is licensed in the State of California as a certified public accountant, attorney and real estate broker. He was formerly employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers' audit and dispute resolution practices until 1990, when he became a founding shareholder, and the chief executive officer of Mack | Barclay Inc., a forensic certified public accounting, economic and information technology consulting firm specializing in the evaluation and resolution of complex economic and accounting issues in the business and litigation environments.
Todd Marshall
Todd Marshall was a founding director of Bank of Nevada and Western Alliance and has served as a director continuously since their establishment in 1994 and 1995, respectively. Mr. Marshall has been the Chief Executive Officer of MRG since May 1976. Mr. Marshall is the son of director Arthur Marshall.
M. Nafees Nagy
M. Nafees Nagy, M.D. has served as a director of Bank of Nevada since its establishment in 1994 and as a director of Western Alliance since April 2004. Dr. Nagy has practiced medicine in Las Vegas for more than 30 years and specializes in oncology, clinical hematology, and cancer chemotherapy. He founded and is President and a director of the Nevada Cancer Center. Dr. Nagy served for eight years as a member of the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners. Dr. Nagy is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Utilization Review and Quality Assurance and has consulted for several healthcare concerns. He currently is a member of the advisory board for Option Care. Dr. Nagy formerly served as a director of Sun Bank for five years and Nevada Community Bank until its sale in 1993. He retired from the U.S. Army as a Lt. Colonel and served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
James E. Nave
James E. Nave, D.V.M. has served as a director of Western Alliance and Bank of Nevada since their establishment in 1995 and 1994, respectively. Dr. Nave, a former officer in the armed forces, has owned the Tropicana Animal Hospital since 1974. He is a former President of the American Veterinary Association. Dr. Nave is also the Globalization Liaison Agent for Education and Licensing for the American Veterinary Medical Association and Chairperson of the National Commission for Veterinary Economics Issues. He is also a member of the Nevada Veterinary Medical Association, the Clark County Veterinary Medical Association, the National Academy of Practitioners, the Western Veterinary Conference, the American Animal Hospital Association, the Executive Board of the World Veterinary Association and was the chairman of the University of Missouri, College of Veterinary Medicine Development Committee. He was also a member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission from 1988 to 1999 and served as its chairman from 1989 to 1992 and from 1994 to 1996. Dr. Nave is also a director of Station Casinos, Inc., and is chairman of its audit committee and a member of its governance and compensation committee.
John Peter Sande III
John P. Sande has been a director of Western Alliance and First Independent Bank of Nevada since April 2007 and September 1999, respectively. Mr. Sande is a partner at Jones Vargas, a prominent Nevada law firm specializing in administrative law, government relations and trust and estates, and is admitted to the state and federal courts in California and Nevada. He is a trustee of the William F. Harrah Trusts, serves as a director of Employers Holdings, Inc., and is a former director of Bank of America Nevada. Mr. Sande graduated with great distinction from Stanford University and has been named to its All Century Football Team. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University where he graduated cum laude.
Donald D. Snyder
Donald D. Snyder has served as a director of Western Alliance and of Bank of Nevada since 1997. He had earlier served as a founding director of the entity created to charter BankWest Corporation and was one of its initial investors. Mr. Snyder is the Chairman of the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation. Mr. Snyder was the President of Boyd Gaming Corporation from January 1997 to March 2005, having joined the company's board of directors in April 1996, and its management team in July 1996. Prior to that he was president and chief executive officer of the Fremont Street Experience LLC, a private/public partnership formed to develop and operate a major redevelopment project in Downtown Las Vegas, and he currently serves as chairman of the board of Fremont. Mr. Snyder was previously chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of First Interstate Bank of Nevada, then Nevada's largest full-service bank, from 1987 through 1991. During his 22 years with First Interstate Bank from 1969 to 1991, Mr. Snyder served in various management positions in retail and corporate banking, as well as international and real estate banking.
Sung Won Sohn
Dr. Sung Won Sohn was appointed to the Board of Directors of Western Alliance in 2010 and is nationally and internationally recognized as an economic expert on the US and global economies. Between 2005 and 2007, Dr. Sohn served as President and CEO of Hanmi Financial Corporation. Prior to Hanmi, Dr. Sohn was Chief Economist for Wells Fargo Banks from 1998 – 2005. He began his banking career in 1974 with Norwest Bank, and in 1984 was named Senior Vice President of Norwest Corporation. Before joining Norwest, Dr. Sohn served as Senior Economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisors.
Kenneth A. Vecchione
Kenneth A. Vecchione (age 58) has been a director of the Company since October 2007, and Vice Chairman of the Company’s Bank of Nevada subsidiary since October 2010. He also served as the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer from April 5, 2010 to April 5, 2013. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Vecchione was the Chief Financial Officer of Apollo Global Management, L.P., one of the largest private equity firms in the United States, from November 2007 to March 2010. Prior to that, he served as the Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of MBNA Corporation. His work experience also includes serving as Chief Financial Officer at AT&T Universal Card, First Data Corp Merchant Group and Citicorp Credit Card Services. Mr. Vecchione became president of Encore Capital Group and a member of its Board of Directors on April 8, 2013. Mr. Vecchione serves as a Director of International Securities Exchange, Chairman of its Audit and Finance Committee, and is a member of its Executive, Compensation and Governance committees. Mr. Vecchione joined the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco in January 2012. Mr. Vecchione served as a director of Affinion Group and was the Chairman of its Audit Committee until January 2011.
