Amundson proud to serve independent bankers as new ICBM exec

Jim Amundson's first day on the job as president and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota was March 7. Amundson will work closely with retiring ICBM President/CEO Marshall MacKay until sometime in the second half of 2016.."We are very pleased to have Jim join the ICBM team and I look forward to personally introducing him to as many [ICBM members] as possible over the next few months," MacKay said..Amundson comes to ICBM after a 17-year career in banking which began at Marquette Bank. After Wells Fargo purchased most of the Pohlad family's bank holdings in 2001, Amundson left to form First Advantage Bank, Coon Rapids, Minn.."I was market president for the north [Twin Cities] metro," he said. "I didn't see a future at Wells Fargo. Part of my severance was helping Wells Fargo get to know our customers but when we visited customers they weren't interested; they had driven by other Wells Fargo locations for years. I couldn't share with them at that time where I was headed but it gave me a sense for who could be a potential customer if we succeeded in getting a bank started.".Amundson and 12 others put up the initial capital as seed money to pay attorneys and for the market study to apply for a charter. First Advantage Bank was founded in 2003 with 105 investors. With Amundson as its president and CEO, it grew to $70 million in assets by 2014. Amundson continued to focus on the same north metro area, and many of his key customers from his Marquette days stayed with him and became First Advantage directors and shareholders. .One of the largest investors in First Advantage Bank was Border Bancshares, Greenbush, Minn., the holding company for Border State Bank. In 2014, Border Bancshares purchased the bank, entering the Twin Cities market.."We sought an acquisition because we needed more capital to grow and our existing shareholder base was not a source for that. We didn't want to bring in a bunch of capital at a discount and further dilute the shares," Amundson said..Amundson, who began serving on ICBM's board in January 2015, stayed on as First Advantage Bank's charter president and CEO until March 2016..The process to hire MacKay's successor took about a year, starting with the board's strategic planning to outline the requirements for candidates. "The ICBM board of directors has discussed thoughtfully the changing community banking environment and the strategic role that ICBM hopes to play in assisting its membership in meeting the new challenges of our industry," MacKay said. "The next five years will be vastly different than the past nine years that I have been at ICBM.".Because of consolidation and growth among ICBM members, the average association member is a $250 million bank with three or four locations and more than 50 employees. Two-thirds of ICBM banks are closely held. "The average member used to be a $100 million bank with a branch or two and 25 employees," MacKay said..The ICBM executive committee served as the search committee, led by MacKay. The committee wanted to find someone who would identify "precisely with what we bankers do on a daily basis," said ICBM Chairman Harry Wahlquist, president and CEO of Star Bank, Bertha, Minn. "I am really pleased that Jim has agreed to accept the position, particularly in light of the fact that he is a banker. He knows the challenges, duties and responsibilities that ICBM constituents deal with on a daily basis.".Wahlquist said MacKay's heart for independent community banking has shown during his tenure as the association's chief executive. "I have developed an incredible respect for what and who Marshall is as a human being, not to mention what he has accomplished over his term of leadership of ICBM," Wahlquist said. "Marshall has guided the association through a period of significant growth in the services and a substantial increase in our membership."