After a nationwide search, the board of directors of The Risk Management Association has appointed William F. Githens as president and CEO effective January 26, 2010. Githens is currently director of Member Relations for RMA and has over 35 years of commercial banking experience.
Philadelphia, Pa. (January 26, 2010) — William F. Githens has been appointed president and CEO of The Risk Management Association (RMA), effective January 26, 2010. The announcement was made by past RMA chairman Sonny B. Lyles, executive vice president and chief risk officer, Main Street Bank, Houston, who chaired the committee that conducted the nationwide search.
"The membership of RMA and the financial services industry is indeed fortunate to have Bill Githens as president and CEO of RMA," said Lyles. "Bill has done an exceptional job as director of Member Relations and as the RMA executive primarily responsible for the chapter network and credit risk management. With his extensive banking experience prior to joining RMA, Bill has an excellent understanding of the risk management challenges facing the industry. While the national search brought us a number of qualified candidates, we selected Bill because he is uniquely qualified and is the best choice to lead RMA."
Githens, 62, joined RMA in 1997. He is responsible for establishing and organizing the member relations functions to serve RMA’s members, including community banks, large banks, global banks, and the chapter network. Githens also directs enterprise risk management and credit risk initiatives and activities for the association. He is actively involved with the regulatory agencies and interacts frequently with chief risk officers and other risk professionals in the financial services industry.
"I am deeply honored to be selected to lead this prestigious association with a 96-year history of focusing on sound risk practices," said Githens. "I first became an associate of RMA in 1973 when I was a commercial officer at First Pennsylvania Bank, and RMA has been a part of my career ever since. I look forward to working with our members to further improve risk management practices in these challenging times for our industry."
Prior to joining RMA, Githens was employed for over 25 years in various leadership roles in financial services. He served as senior vice president of Member Relations for Visa USA, was president and CEO of SynapQuest, Inc., a subsidiary of CoreStates Financial Corporation, and managed various credit and non-credit functions in CoreStates and its predecessor institution, First Pennsylvania Bank.
Current RMA Chair Malcolm D. Griggs, managing director and head of risk management for retail banking, Morgan Stanley, Purchase, New York, said he’s very pleased with Githens' selection. "Bill has a wealth of experience and understands the needs of RMA's member institutions and associates. He has developed a network of contacts with risk managers and regulators throughout the world and is well known and respected by the chapters. I know of no one more dedicated to the cause of promoting sound practices in risk management."
Githens will be the ninth chief executive of RMA since its founding in 1914. He succeeds W. Kendall Chalk, retired senior executive vice president and chief credit officer, BB&T Corporation, who has served as interim president and CEO while the search has been underway. Chalk said, "Bill is the ideal person to take over the leadership of RMA. He brings a deep knowledge of banking, expertise in risk management, and a broad perspective to carry on the work of the organization. I have worked closely with Bill both during the last few months here at RMA and previously as a board member and chair of the association. Bill is a person of the highest integrity and character, cares about his fellow associates, and is fully committed to the important mission of RMA."
About RMA
Founded in 1914, The Risk Management Association is a not-for-profit, member-driven professional association whose sole purpose is to advance the use of sound risk principles in the financial services industry. RMA promotes an enterprise-wide approach to risk management that focuses on credit risk, market risk and operational risk.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, RMA has approximately 3,000 institutional members that include banks of all sizes as well as nonbank financial institutions. They are represented in the Association by 18,000 risk management professionals who are chapter members in financial centers throughout North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
Contacts:
Kathleen M. Beans
kbeans@rmahq.org
215-446-4095
Kevin McLaughlin
kmclaughlin@rmahq.org
215-446-4137