German-American State Bank, German Valley, Ill., has named Warren Laube as its next president and CEO effective April 6.
He replaces Jeffrey Sterling, who has elected to step down and will transition to senior vice president, commercial loan officer. He will continue to serve commercial clients, mentor junior lenders, and support the success of the future leader of the bank.
Laube has more than 30 years of experience in banking and finance. Most recently he was executive vice president of Slipstream in Madison, Wis., which works in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Prior to that, he was president, CEO and director of The Bank of New Glarus, Wis., for 12 years and president and director of Greenwoods State Bank , Lake Mills, Wis. for 6 years.
He has also served on the boards of the New Glarus School Board, the New Glarus and Lake Mills Chambers of Commerce, and the Green County Development Corporation.
Laube has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His family is originally from Durand and he grew up on a small family farm outside Juda, Wis.
The $249 million German-American has four branches in Stephenson and Winnebago Counties in Illinois. It is a subsidiary of the $1.2 billion Foresight Financial Group, Winnebago, Ill., which operates five other banks in Illinois.