The 2024–2025 WBA Board of Directors. Seated (left to right) are: WBA President and CEO Rose Oswald Poels, Tim Schneider, WBA Chair-Elect Paul Northway, WBA Chair Al Araque, WBA Past Chair Donna Hoppenjan, WBA Vice Chair Joe Peikert, and Ryan Kamphuis. Standing (left to right) are Shane Ilstrup, Todd Nagel, Bill Sennholz, Kelly Heroux, Shay Horton, Greg Lundberg, Tony Nguyen, and Jimmy Kauffman. Not pictured are: Paul Hoffman and Tom Mews.
Alvaro (Al) Araque, SVP, director of consumer, private, and business banking, Johnson Financial Group, has been elected to serve as the 2024–2025 Board chair of the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA).
The Wisconsin Bankers Association is the state’s largest financial industry trade association, representing nearly 190 commercial banks and savings institutions, their branches, and 30,000 employees.
“We are very pleased to welcome Al Araque as chair of the WBA Board,” said Rose Oswald Poels, WBA president and CEO. “Al’s extensive industry experience, coupled with his unsurpassed enthusiasm, will no doubt have a positive impact on our organization, the banking industry, and the communities we serve.”
Alvaro Araque
Araque joined Johnson Financial Group in 2021, bringing over two decades of banking experience with him. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and minor in studio art at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Araque’s community involvement includes serving on the boards of the Penfield Children’s Center, Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee (HPGM), and Employ Milwaukee Financial Advisory Board.
Also serving as officers on the WBA Board are: Chair-Elect Paul Northway, president and CEO, American National Bank – Fox Cities, Appleton; Vice Chair Joe Peikert, president and CEO, Wolf River Community Bank, Hortonville; and Past Chair Donna Hoppenjan, president and CEO, Mound City Bank, Platteville.
Joining the Board for three-year terms are: Shane Ilstrup, president, Citizens First Bank, Trempealeau; Jimmy Kauffman, president and CEO, Bank of Sun Prairie; Todd Nagel, president and CEO, IncredibleBank, Wausau; and Tim Schneider, president and CEO, Bank Five Nine, Oconomowoc.
Those continuing their terms on the Board are: Kelly Heroux, president and CEO, Peshtigo National Bank; Paul Hoffmann, president, Lake Ridge Bank, Middleton; Shay Horton, president and CEO, Cumberland Federal Bank; Ryan Kamphuis, president and CEO, Bristol Morgan Bank, Oakfield; Greg Lundberg, president and CEO, Fortifi Bank, Berlin; Tom Mews, president, First National Community Bank, New Richmond; Anthony Nguyen, Eastern Minnesota/Wisconsin/Chicago regional bank director, SVP, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Milwaukee; and Bill Sennholz, CEO, Forward Bank, Marshfield.
Board members who completed their terms in 2023–2024 are Dan Peterson, The Stephenson National Bank & Trust, Marinette; Jay Mack, Town Bank, N.A., Hartland; Greg Ogren, Security Bank Shares, Inc., Iron River; and Dan Ravenscroft, Royal Bank, Elroy.
