Minnesota Bankers' Association names Joseph Witt EVP

Northwestern Financial Review, Jul 1-Jul 14, 2003

Joseph Witt was named executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Minnesota Bankers Association on June 6, effective immediately. Witt joined MBA in 1996, and had been its general counsel. Witt was selected from 80-some applicants after the MBA board in early April declined to renew the employment contract with William Bond.

Witt is the first internal candidate to ascend to the MBA leadership post since Truman Jeffers was named executive vice president in 1970 after joining the association in 1961. When Jeffers retired in 1995, he was replaced by Wes Ehrecke, who came from the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives. He was replaced in 2000 by Bond, who had been the head of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association.

"We are very excited that Joe will be serving the MBA in this new capacity," said 2002-2003 MBA President Pat Hart, Security State Bank of Wells. "Joe has an extensive knowledge of banking laws and regulations, a strong relationship with a significant number of Minnesota bankers, and an excellent understanding of the Minnesota political landscape."

Witt said his major focus will be meeting the needs of members and assuring they get value for their membership. "Working for the MBA for the past seven years has been a wonderful experience," Witt said. "I have a great deal of respect for this association and it is an honor and a privilege to be appointed to this new position."

As general counsel, Witt provided legal and compliance information to MBA, served on MBA's management team and provided technical expertise to MBA's government relations program.

Witt has been the lead author of the MBA's Legal Compliance Bulletins. He also drafted and edited updates to the MBA Deposit Accounts Manual and the MBA Lending Manual series. Working with representatives from the Minnesota Safe Deposit Association, Witt was the lead author of the revised MBA Safe Deposit Operations Manual. Witt has been a frequent instructor and lecturer at state and national banking schools, conferences and seminars, including the MBA School of Banking.

Witt graduated in 1990 from the University of St. John's in Collegeville, Minn., and from the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree. He was hired by MBA in 1996 as its assistant legal counsel and was promoted to general counsel in 2000 when Mike Carlson left MBA to join a Minneapolis law firm.