2025 Outstanding Women in Banking: Donna Hoppenjan

With retirement in sight, Wisconsin banker reflects on what’s importantAs she prepares to conclude her career in community banking — 48 years all devoted to one bank — Donna Hoppenjan, CEO of Mound City Bank in Platteville, Wis., grows reflective. Her achievements, she says, can be attributed to hard work, long hours, and the all-important “village” (friends, coworkers, extended family) who helped her keep it all together before concepts like “family leave” and “work-life balance” entered social consciousness. .Mound City Bank was a modest $30 million institution when Hoppenjan, a BankBeat 2025 “Outstanding Women in Banking” honoree, joined in 1977. The daughter of dairy farmers, she learned her work ethic at home and mastered lessons in leadership and showmanship through 4-H. Though she was valedictorian of her graduating class and voted “most likely to succeed,” she didn’t ship off to college. The teller slot she secured in 1977, the same year she married, qualified her for a 300 basis point reduction on a mortgage, a bank benefit that was meaningful for her family in building their first home. Mound City Bank proved to be fertile soil for a person who is intellectually curious, and willing and able to put in the work that the circumstance demands. Cue the village, which allowed her to focus on the job at hand while raising son, Chad, and daughter, Sara. “One thing that sticks out to me was making sure you had a smile on your face and that you were warm and friendly and genuine,” Hoppenjan recalled of those early years. “I've made that my motto to always make the customer's day.”Her journey to the top job included stints at the trust department where she performed administrative work. She was asked to fill a new role as the bank’s internal auditor, which required her to become certified. Her time in audit, writing the programs and reporting to the audit committee, put her in front of the board — a critical pathway to fostering trust. Hoppenjan also had a pivotal role in the bank’s compliance. She was project lead as the bank moved into Cuba City, Wis. She found her passion while working in operations because it was there where she “got to work with people again.” By 1992, when she was named assistant vice president of operations, she’d even performed HR and marketing tasks. Hoppenjan’s career “embodies the power of hard work, loyalty and community service that are core to community banking,” said Rose Oswald Poels, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Bankers Association. Oswald Poels worked with Hoppenjan, who served the WBA as 2023-24 chair, the second female banker to hold that position in the association’s history. At the time of her elevation to chair, Hoppenjan was among just 18 female bank presidents in Wisconsin, Oswald Poels said. A highlight of Hoppenjan’s term as association chair was the passage of a tax exemption on commercial and agricultural loans of less than $5 million made in the state. Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to provide banks with tax parity. “I think we're able to keep our rates in line and have been able to utilize the money saved, the earnings saved, by giving back to our communities,” she said.Mound City Bank, which is now a $515 million community bank, had $280 million in assets in 2013, the year Hoppenjan was named president and CEO — her 36th at the bank. “It took me longer to excel,” she said, admitting that lacking a college degree forced her to amplify other virtues, such as fortitude and diligence.In addition to her dedication to the bank and having earned the board’s trust, advancing her knowledge of the industry through the varying schools offered by WBA, and then later attending the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was “very beneficial to my career,” Hoppenjan said. She gives back in a multitude of ways, including having served for six years on the GSB Advisory Board, one of those years as board chair.The bank, which has in excess of 400 shareholders, none of whom holds majority interest, embraces its identity as an independent community owned bank, Hoppenjan said. “We put the customers first, and that's always where our passion is.”Though Hoppenjan rose to the top role from the inside, the bank looked beyond its walls to find her successor. Michael Phillips joined the bank 15 months ago and has served as president since the beginning of this year. He brings “new blood” Hoppenjan said, adding that it was important her team went “all in” on his selection.That leaves Hoppenjan to pack up her office and head off into the sunset, though she plans to stay active with the board for the next few years. To those whom she leaves behind, Hoppenjan offers this counsel: Dream big and commit the time to achieve your career goals. Create a passion for learning and take advantage of networking events to grow your network of contacts to call upon as you face new banking challenges. It takes a village to raise a family, so don’t be afraid to ask for help from family and friends. The best version of you is one where you find your passion in your leisure time that allows you to take care of you.Lastly, be kind to yourself, your coworkers and your customers. You will feel amazing at the end of each day knowing that you have become a better version of yourself by encouraging coworkers to stay inspired to pursue their career goals, and by assisting customers in reaching their financial goals.