After 22 years overseeing the day-to-day operations at First National Bank of Brookfield, John DiGiovanni, the bank’s president and chief financial officer, is retiring. “This is a long-term transition,” said Jan Schultz, the bank chairman and CEO, who characterized DiGiovanni as his “right hand man.”
“John will continue on as an employee of the bank for several more months,” Schultz said. “He’s starting to phase out until his natural retirement date.”
According to Schultz, bank policy requires executives to retire at age 65. DiGiovanni will turn 65 in June.
“My wife and I will start doing things we’ve always put off and do some traveling,” DiGiovanni said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The new president of First National Bank of Brookfield is Phil Richard, who came to the bank from the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen in 2002 and began working in the bank’s investments center.
“We noticed he had talents above and beyond being an investment advisor,” Schultz said. “We’ve been grooming him as John’s successor for at least two years. He was a natural fit into community banking.”
DiGiovanni, a resident of LaGrange Park, is no stranger to Brookfield. After attending St. Barbara School as a boy, he graduated from Riverside-Brookfield High School in 1962.
His first job was at Jewel, when it was located just steps from the bank where he would spend two decades. He also worked at Brookfield Zoo and at the Brookfield News Agency.
He joined First National Bank of Brookfield in 1987 as executive vice president in charge of operations. He was named the bank’s president in 2005. His son is one of the bank’s vice presidents and his daughter also works for the bank.
DiGiovanni admitted 2008 was a tough year to be a banker. In July 2008, Crain’s Chicago Business identified the bank as being caught in a cash crunch due to non-performing real estate loans. Later that year, the bank was sanctioned by the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency related to its lending practices.
“I think the one thing that’s increased is stress,” DiGiovanni said. “The economy and changes in banking have put a lot of stress on bankers in general. I think it’s going to continue.”
Still, DiGiovanni said he looks back fondly on the last decade of his career at First National Bank of Brookfield.
“In the last 10 years, my career was geared to being a mentor to a lot of young people, and teaching them how to do things correctly and for customer service,” DiGiovanni said. “I think as I walk away, I think of all the young people I’ve trained at Brookfield and other banks. It’s had a very positive effect on my life.”