Financial Institutions Conference (WEBCAST ATTENDANCE)

Aaron Donaldson, Principal, RSM US LLP

Aaron Donaldson, principal, serves as co-leader of the financial institutions consulting practice at RSM US LLP, focusing on technology and management consulting. In addition, Aaron is an enterprise account leader, which enables him to bring resources from across the firm and within any discipline to serve the needs of clients. With a strong background in financial institution operations, technology and risk management, and digital transformation, Aaron brings a fresh, often creative approach to complex challenges across industries and disciplines.

Aaron has more than 20 years of experience providing clients with information technology services. He is experienced at helping clients identify current and future pain points and providing valuable recommendations and solutions to address them, while always keeping an eye on the business needs as opposed to the technology wants. As the technology services landscape began to change, RSM turned to Aaron to launch the managed services practice to provide clients with more consistent and better aligned IT services. As far back as 2010, Aaron and RSM were recognized by MSPmentor as a Top 250 MSP (managed service provider) individual and by CRN as a Most Innovative MSP.

Brandon Koeser, Senior Analyst, RSM US LLP

Brandon is a senior analyst in RSM’s cutting-edge Industry Eminence Program, positioning him to understand, forecast and communicate economic, business and technology trends shaping the industries RSM serves. Brandon’s focus is on advising capital markets and financial institution leaders and clients on business conditions, industry trends and regulatory developments influencing their ecosystems across North America. Brandon has over 14 years of experience serving clients across the country by providing industry-specific insights and thought leadership that allows them stay at the forefront of the changes within their industry. He has also provided assurance and risk advisory services, including financial statement audits, attest engagement services, operational risk assessments and specialized compliance audits.

Brandon has worked with a variety of publicly and privately held clients in the financial services industry, including financial institutions and capital markets firms. Brandon’s primary focus is on delivering timely, relevant information to his clients while also providing high-quality service on complex audit, accounting and operational matters by leading and directing engagements. This industry-specific focus has allowed Brandon to bring his clients valuable insights relevant to their business, which also allows him to work with them in an effective and efficient manner.

Carmen Wooley, CFO, Affinity Credit Union

Carmen Wooley is CFO of Affinity Credit Union in Des Moines. With over ten years’ experience in the credit union domain, Carmen is dedicated to providing accurate financial statements and critical financial information to individuals who make business decisions on a daily, monthly and annual basis. She focuses on GAAP directives, data analysis, month-end financial reporting, identifying process efficiencies and procedural protocols.

Corey Weeklund, Director, Technology Consulting, RSM US LLP

Corey Weeklund, CISSP, is a Director, Technology Consulting at RSM US LLP.

Erik Sorensen, CFO, Community Choice Credit Union

Erik Sorensen is the Chief Financial Officer of Community Choice Credit Union, serving on the executive team and overseeing all aspects of financial & deposit strategy, accounting, information technology, and people and culture. Erik has over fifteen years of experience in the financial services industry, joining Community Choice in 2016 after five years with the State of Iowa as a Senior Credit Union Examiner. Erik serves as a director on two fintech boards including Choice Creative Solutions and RAI Partners, Inc. He is the board chair for MercyOne House of Mercy and serves on the board for MercyOne Foundation. Erik resides in the Des Moines area with his wife, Stephanie and three kids.

Frank Farone

Frank consults nationwide with CEOs and CFOs of financial institutions to increase earnings through the proactive management of capital, liquidity/funding risk, and interest rate risk. He is a frequent speaker and author on topics such as industry issues and trends, funding solutions, regulatory issues, interest rate risk management, capital management, and derivatives hedging techniques.

Frank was designated a “top-rated” speaker by FMS and is well known for his popular seminar “Turbo Charging Your ALCO Process” having helped thousands of bankers across the country.

Frank is a graduate of Siena College. He lives in Winchester, Massachusetts and is an avid golfer and runner, having completed numerous marathons including several Boston Marathons over the past 25 years.

Heather Miller, CEO

Heather Miller is the Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Financial Bank.

James Johnson, President and CEO

James Johnson was appointed by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds as the Superintendent of Banking in January. He is President and CEO of PCSB Bank, a $300 million, family-owned community bank located in Clarinda, Iowa. He also serves on the board of PCSB Bank. Johnson has been active in the banking industry in many capacities, including serving on the Board of the Iowa Bankers Association and as a past member and Chairman of the Iowa Bankers Association Ag Committee. 

James grew up on a family farm near Gravity, Iowa. He graduated magna cum laude from Northwest Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business. He is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where he served as both Class Representative and Alumni Advisor. 

Outside of his banking responsibilities, Johnson also serves on the board of directors at the Bedford Community School District, President of the Bedford Youth Sports non-profit little league program, Secretary of the New Market Church of Christ board, and is involved in coaching and officiating numerous local youth sports teams.

Jerry Warrick, Management Consulting Manager, RSM US LLP

Jerry serves as a Principal on RSM's Financial Institution Technology and Consulting team. He spends time working directly with financial institutions, driving business improvement and performance by leveraging RSM's robust expertise of the banking industry, technology trends, security infrastructure and shifting regulatory environments. Jerry speaks at technology and executive conferences throughout the industry. At RSM Jerry focuses on executive advisory services, including strategic planning, virtual CIO services and IT delivery services for financial institutions.
Jerry has a broad background within the banking industry, He has over twenty-five years of technology and community banking experience working as a consultant and holding key IT, operations and risk management roles. He has served on the board of a local payments processing company and a large community bank while serving as the chair of the Enterprise Risk Committee. He was also an honors graduate from Graduate School of Banking Colorado. With this experience, Jerry gained critical insight in bank management and the expertise needed to help drive the design of technology systems and services that support and align with the financial institutions strategic plans.
His industry knowledge was instrumental in designing, implementing and managing RSM's complete outsourcing solution, Financial Institution Technology as a Service. This combines the best of Managed Services, Cloud Services, and IT Advisory and Governance Services into an easy-to-consume bundle, something that's highly sought after. This oversight allows Mr. Warrick to specialize in customizing technology solutions that allow the institution to concentrate on managing the bank while partnering with RSM on innovation, security, data and streamlining IT in today's fast-paced environments.

Due to the highly regulated financial institution environment and Jerry's technical and industry expertise, he participates in a variety of assessments that analyze infrastructure, information security, technology spend and staffing, operational controls, policies and risk. With this experience, Jerry has assisted many financial institutions with operational and technology improvements, regulatory related items, governance process implementation and regulatory remediation.

Julie Starnes, Director, RSM US LLP

Julie serves as a business development director for RSM’s National Financial Institution Practice. She joined the firm in May 2003 and has more than 30 years of financial services experience, focusing on technology, management consulting and risk advisory services. When Julie first joined RSM, she managed the risk management team that developed risk advisory services for financial institutions. In 2005, she joined the business development team and works with many financial services clients across the country. Prior to joining RSM, she was employed by a federal regulatory agency and a statewide trade association where she focused on regulatory and public affairs.

KC Mathews, Chief Market Strategist

As the Chief Market Strategist at Commerce Trust, KC holds a key contributing role in the development and execution of the firm's market strategy with a focus on equity investments. In addition, he serves on Commerce Trust's Investment Policy Committee and as a thought leader for the firm on investment, market and related topics. Prior to joining Commerce Trust in 2023, KC served as the Chief Investment Officer at UMB Bank. In this capacity, he oversaw the strategic development and execution of UMB's $12 billion investment management division. He also counseled high profile private and institutional clients on investment
management matters. Previously, KC held positions of increased responsibility within the trust division of the Bank of Oklahoma.

KC holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Minnesota and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame. He is a graduate of the ABA National Trust School at Northwestern University and completed an advanced investment management education program at the Harvard Business School. KC earned the Chartered Financial Analyst ® designation and is member of the CFA Institute. He also is a past president of the CFA ® Society of Kansas City.

Kevin Larkin, Chief Information Officer, Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines

Kevin Larkin was named chief information officer at Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines in March 2020. Larkin has more than 25 years of professional experience, and oversees the Bank’s information technology (IT) and information security (IS) departments. Kevin served at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago as vice president, managing director, IT operations. He joined FHLB Chicago in 2018 as vice president, managing director, IT risk, compliance and administration before being promoted to his most recent role. Prior to joining the Chicago Bank, Kevin served as assistant vice president of business systems and IT governance for Illinois Mutual Life Insurance from 2014 to 2018. Kevin also has almost 13 years serving as the director of business solutions with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh. He has earned a bachelors degree from Gannon University, and both a MBA degree and Master’s in Information Systems Management from Duquesne University.

Kimberly Wernimont, Senior Tax Director, RSM US LLP

Kimberly Wernimont is a senior director, tax services, for RSM US LLP in Des Moines. She provides tax and accounting services to financial institution clients, primarily in retail and commercial banking. Her experience includes both C and S corporation financial institutions. She is responsible for providing a variety of tax compliance, tax planning, and related services, including ASC 740 tax provisions. Kimberly also provides tax compliance and planning services for trusts and high-networth individuals. Kimberly has over fourteen years of experience in public accounting working on financial institutions, including both public and private companies.

Mitch Van Kley, Controller, Iowa Bankers Insurance and Services

Mitch Van Kley, CPA, is the Controller for Iowa Bankers Association in Johnston and an active member with the Iowa Society of CPAs. Previously, he was an Audit Senior Manager with Deloitte in Des Moines for 11 years. He attended Iowa State University, earning bachelors’ degrees in Accounting and Management Information Systems.

Paul Cain, Partner, RSM US LLP

Paul Cain is a partner, tax services, for RSM US LLP in Des Moines. He provides tax and accounting services to a variety of clients, primarily financial institutions and other financial services companies. He also provides income and estate tax planning services to individual clients, particularly for business owners. Paul has practiced public accounting for more than 35 years.

In addition, Paul has served RSM in the various leadership roles, including tax market leader for RSM's locations in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. Currently, Paul serves as the Firm's Financial Institutions tax leader. As part of this work, he works with the financial institutions leadership team developing strategies to reach annual and long-term goals and ensure consistent application of RSM's client service philosophy to financial institutions.

Rachel Scheve, Tax Partner, RSM US LLP

Rachel Scheve is a partner, tax service, for RSM US LLP in Des Moines. She has over 19 years of public accounting experience and provides tax services to middle market clients, including federal and state tax compliance, tax planning and research, FASB Accounting Standards Codification Topic 740 analysis, tax accounting method changes, tax reform implementation and other tax reporting. She works with clients primarily in the financial services industry, as well as with high-net-worth individuals.

Ramon Rodriguez, Managing Director, Bank Solutions

Ramon manages the Chicago-based Bank Solutions team at Derivative Path, where he helps Derivative Path’s bank clients set up and run successful customer hedging programs. Ramon has worked in capital markets and technology throughout his career. He has helped build and grow derivative sales businesses at multiple regional and global banks, including LaSalle Bank, ABN AMRO, The PrivateBank and Trust Company, and CIBC. Derivative Path is a technology focused capital markets and risk management firm that offers a best-in-class derivatives technology platform, as well as a full suite of advisory, execution, and support services provided by experienced capital markets professionals

Thomas Westbrook

Tom Westbrook, Ph.D. is an active presenter at numerous corporations and organizations across the Midwest. His clients include Principal Financial Group, Oldcastle Materials Group, Jeld-Wen, McAninch Construction, Wells Fargo, Wellmark, Nationwide, numerous associations, medical centers, school districts and colleges. His success at blending the theoretical aspects of leadership with practical, performance-based applications has won him praise as a master facilitator. Tom’s work at Nationwide included the design of a 21st century learning model applied to their new School of Commercial Underwriting. With Wellmark, Tom and his team designed the orientation for communities creating Blue Zones in Iowa. His work at Principal included the development and offering of instructor-led, highly interactive traditional and web-based leadership courses offered to over 5,000 leaders across the United States. Tom served on the administration and faculty of Drake University. Tom started, directed, and taught in the undergraduate minor in Leadership Education & Development and taught graduate leadership classes. While at Simpson College, Tom served as Dean of Continuing Education, a program he initiated. He has published in many leading journals including: The Human Resource Development Quarterly, American Journal of Distance Education, and The Journal of Continuing Higher Education. He was awarded the Iowa Distance Education Association’s Points of Presence Award for exemplary programming. Tom’s doctorate was earned at the University of Iowa where he was awarded the Leonard B Davis Award for scholarship and service.