Independent CFO will retire

Robert Shuster, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Independent Bank in Grand Rapids, Mich., will retire early next year.

Shuster has been CFO for the bank and its holding company Independent Bank Corporation since May 2001. Previously, he was president and CEO of a different subsidiary bank from September 1999 to May 2001.  

He first joined Independent Bank Corporation in September 1999 when it acquired Mutual Savings Bank, where he had served as president and CEO since November 1994.  Aged 61, Shuster has worked in the financial services industry since 1983 and began his career in public accounting in 1979.

Independent has begun a search for Shuster’s replacement, which it expects to name in September or October. Shuster will remain with the company through the transition, retiring  on or about Jan. 31, 2020.

He has a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.