2026 BankBeat magazine Outstanding Women in Banking: Lisa Arnold

Former English teacher taps education skills in bank leadership roleLisa Arnold, president and CEO at Home Bank in Martinsville, Ind., will be the second woman ever to serve as the chair of the Indiana Bankers Association. According to IBA CEO Amber Van Til, there isn’t a better person for the job..“Lisa is very well known within our industry as a passionate leader in the community banking space,” Van Til said. Arnold first started working a part-time job at Home Bank in 1985 while she was in college. After graduating, Arnold pursued a career as a middle school language arts teacher until Home Bank reached back out to her in 1994 to return as a bank manager. When she accepted the offer, she never looked back. She is one of six women BankBeat is honoring as a 2026 “Outstanding Woman in Banking.” Still, Arnold uses her English teaching skills to this day. “As I think about my role now, being able to tell our story to the outside community in writing or in speaking [prove that] communication is such a vital skill,” she said. “Then on top of it, being an educator [and] leading and guiding folks to grow…[is] very much about what my role has been over the years, particularly as a manager and then as an executive leader here at the bank.”Arnold has been with Home Bank for more than 40 years, largely due to the bank’s culture – a culture, she explained, that is inherent to its nature as a mutual savings bank. “We do not have shareholders,” Arnold said. “We have stakeholders in our customers in the community. And so our focus [is] on serving the needs of our community, both credit and deposit needs, but also just general community needs. That's very reflected in our culture here.” According to Van Til, this is also reflected in Arnold’s personality and leadership style. If Arnold is available, Van Til said, she can count on her to be there, providing the example that Arnold was one of the first to sign on to their new apprenticeship program in partnership with the state. This program allows high school students to work in a business setting and get a diploma that aligns with that industry. “I think if you asked any Indiana banker, ‘who's the nicest person in banking?’ there probably would be a unanimous decision around Lisa Arnold,” Van Til said. “She loves her bank, she loves her employees, she loves her community [and] she loves the IBA. For us to have someone who has such a genuine passion and loyalty to the mission – that’s a gift.” This passion is something Arnold brings with her in all parts of her life, evident even when sharing the biggest lesson she has learned: being patient in her career. “I've found the perfect organization that aligns with my values,” she said. “I was able to come [to Home Bank], learn and grow over many, many years, and be patient. I know some young professionals feel like they've got to constantly be moving up the ladder, and if you're in the right organization where your skills and your gifts are recognized, then your career path is going to reflect that.” In addition to currently serving as IBA’s first vice chairman, Arnold is involved in multiple other initiatives within the association, including chairing the Government Relations Committee, engaging in the Audit Committee and the Service Court, and serving on the Board for Depositories and as a trustee for the Group Insurance Trust. Arnold could not recommend a state trade association enough to young professionals, promising that her experience networking, attending events and meeting other bankers was invaluable to her career. This is something Arnold thinks Home Bank also does well.“We invest a lot in training, leadership [and] development,” she said. “We always say we would hope that if someone comes and is part of our team, even for a short period of time, that when they move on they feel like they've really grown and have been better for that experience.” When it comes to advice Arnold would give to other leaders in banking, she recommends being authentic as a leader. Taking the time and using the tools and resources to learn about yourself, she explained, is vital. She has also surrounded herself with a team of people who share her same vision and who complement her skills. Van Til sums it up: “There is not an inauthentic bone in Lisa’s body.”