ANNUAL CONFERENCE
IBA Chairman Brant Ahrens’ Inaugural Speech Excerpts
G
ood afternoon – for those of you whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting, I am Brant Ahrens, President of Retail and Digital Banking at CIBC Bank USA. Seven years ago, when Linda Koch and Charie Zanck asked me if I would be interested in serving as the Chair of the Government Relations Committee, then join the Executive Committee, then serve as the Treasurer and eventually become the Board Chair, I never envisioned that I would be giving my welcome speech during a pandemic and during one of the nation’s most tragic episodes of protest, rioting and looting. In the name of “all men are created equal”– as Abraham Lincoln stated in the Gettysburg Address – we clearly have a long way to go to achieve the racial equality that Lincoln so bravely called for during our Civil War. I’d like us to just take a moment of silence for our country. I was both flattered and humbled when I was asked by the Nominating Committee to Chair the Board of IBA. It was a decision that I gave tremendous consideration and contemplation– a decision that I did not take lightly. Somewhere in that 7-year timeframe, Linda Koch informed the board that she would be retiring in June of 2020 – just when I would be coming on as chairman. I wasn’t sure if I should take that personally, but I completely understood why Linda had chosen that path. I want to take a minute to personally thank Linda for all that she has done for the Illinois Bankers Association and for me personally. Linda has been an exceptional CEO for the past 20 years. I have always been impressed with
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• July-August 2020
Linda’s leadership skills, her patience, her negotiating abilities and her sense of humor. This pandemic is another example of how nimble and flexible the IBA is under Linda’s direction. You see, we have a perfect storm here. I’m coming in as the new board chairman– as Linda is exiting stage left– and Randy Hultgren is coming in as the new President and CEO WHILE the economy
has come to a screeching halt and we have had to shelter in place. All of the plans we had been making– the Annual Conference being one of them– got tossed out the window. Linda and Randy and all the creative minds at the IBA quickly changed course and put together this virtual conference to keep the traditions alive and to bring us all together.
