David Bochnowski will retire this year as executive board chair of Munster, Ind.-based Finward Bancorp.
Bochnowski’s retirement is effective June 30. The board appointed his son, Finward Bancorp President and CEO Benjamin Bochnowski, to succeed him as chair. The changes at the holding company of Peoples Bank are considered part of its succession planning process.
Benjamin joined Finward Bancorp in 2010, and was named chief operating officer three years later. He was promoted to president and COO in 2015, and became CEO the following year. He is a director and first vice chair of the Indiana Bankers Association and a member of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions board.
David has been executive chair since 2016, and previously served as both CEO and chair of the board for 35 years. He has more than 43 years of banking experience and managed the growth and operations of Peoples Bank through multiple business cycles. During David’s time as chair and CEO of both Finward Bancorp and Peoples Bank, the holding company grew from approximately $127 million to $2.05 billion, noted Lead Director Anthony Puntillo.
An attorney with experience in federal banking laws and regulations, Bochnowski is a former chair of America’s Community Bankers, the American Bankers Association Government Relations Council and the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions.
David “worked tirelessly for the shareholders, employees, customers and communities of Peoples Bank and Finward Bancorp over the past four decades,” Benjamin said. “He had the vision and courage to raise capital at a small savings and loan during a tumultuous time and forge the path for the company we have become today.”
“Since 1981, it has been my honor to serve our customers, communities, and the Peoples team, as we utilize the resources entrusted to us to build the regional economies of Northwest Indiana and more recently Chicagoland,” David said.