Brent Beardall & Simone Lagomarsino: Two Bank CEOs on Leadership, M&A, and the Deal That Made Them Family

Episode notes

Brent Beardall, President and CEO of WaFd, Inc., joins Brian Love to tell the story of his rise from a bank file room to the CEO seat. Partway through, he gets surprised on camera by Simone Lagomarsino, the former CEO of Luther Burbank Savings, the bank WaFd acquired. The two cover leadership, the WaFd and Luther Burbank merger, surviving the 2023 banking crisis, and why banking is still a noble profession. A good listen for anyone thinking about leadership, succession, or M&A in community banking.

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