Bell Bank is expanding its presence in the Phoenix metro, hiring 5 new banking leaders to help guide commercial lending and deposit growth at Bell’s current and upcoming locations. Kyle Kennedy, Bell’s Phoenix president and Arizona banking director, announced that Adam Christensen has been named senior vice president (SVP)/commercial banker and Gerald Deetz has been named SVP/commercial sales manager in the Phoenix market.
 
Deetz and Christensen are joined on the commercial leadership team by Heidi Marshall, Kevin Herbst and Ben Allen.
 
Adam Christensen, SVP/commercial banking manager, will promote Bell’s brand while growing relationships with individuals and businesses.
 
Christensen is a graduate of Utah Valley University and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Utah. He also graduated from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington. He has been in banking and finance for more than 15 years, including positions as a banking team lead and commercial banking market manager and specialization in construction and contract lending.
 
Gerald Deetz is a diversified lender with a wide array of unique commercial lending skills and most recently served for 18 years with a regional bank as a state sales manager and senior commercial banker, establishing niche-industry financing.
 
“I’m excited to join Bell’s commercial leadership team,” Deetz said. “All of us share a people-first philosophy of banking. Our focus on building relationships, and providing personalized service in the best interest of our clients, will offers people a banking experience they won’t find elsewhere. Bell has continued to help businesses through these challenging times, and I’m pleased to be a part of that.”
 
Heidi Marshall, SVP/commercial banking commercial and industrial (C&I) team leader, will focus on loans to businesses, including niche lending for contractors and machine shops.
 
A graduate of Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey Business School, Marshall has more than 20 years of experience in commercial banking including financial analysis, loan underwriting, portfolio management and business development. She has also worked in fostering leadership and centers of influence, most recently in senior commercial banking positions.
 
Kevin Herbst, SVP/commercial banking commercial and industrial (C&I) team leader, will provide banking solutions with niches to contractors, nonprofit organizations and aviation.
 
A graduate of Michigan State University, Herbst also earned a master’s degree in business administration from Arizona State University. He has more than 25 years of banking experience, including roles that involved assisting customers in leveraging wealth management, investments, real estate and other aspects of finance.
 
Ben Allen, SVP/private banker, will provide private banking services, from day-to-day banking to more complex financial services, to business executives and other individuals.
 
Born and raised in Cottonwood, Ariz., Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in finance, with an investment management emphasis, from Northern Arizona University. He started his banking career as a private banker and now has 16 years of experience in the banking field.
 
Kennedy noted that this leadership group joins Kennedy and Bell’s other Arizona leaders including SVP/commercial banking manager Brandon Brown, SVP/commercial real estate team leader Brent Walz and SVP/senior credit officer Adam White.
 
“Bell offers such a unique banking experience,” Kennedy said. “We combine a welcoming atmosphere with the advanced technology and highly competitive offerings you’d expect from larger national banks. We are excited to unite the incredible culture of Bell Bank with some of the best bankers in the Valley as we expand Bell’s presence in Arizona – and more importantly, carry out the bank’s bottom-line mission of creating a great place for people to work and do business.”
 
Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Fargo, N.D., Bell Bank (Member FDIC) is one of the nation’s largest independently owned banks, with full-service banking locations in Arizona, North Dakota and Minnesota and more than $8 billion in assets.