B2 Bank hires three execs as part of digital bank shift

B2 Bank, Mountain Iron, Minn., hired three senior executives from St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Climate First Bank as it transitions into a nationwide, digital financial institution. .Ryan Jaskiewicz was named CEO, while Chris Cucci joined as bank president. Chris Van Buskirk was appointed chief credit and risk officer. Jaskiewicz has nearly two decades of commercial finance and executive leadership experience. He founded 12five Capital in 2006 at age 23, leading its growth to more than $55 million in net funds employed before it was acquired by fintech Breakout Capital in 2023. He was most recently president of structured finance at Climate First Bank. Cucci has more than two decades of commercial banking experience with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, SouthState Bank and Climate First Bank. VanBuskirk has 25 years of commercial banking experience, most recently as chief credit officer at Climate First. He founded two banks that were later acquired, including Florida Choice Bank and First Green Bank.“We have the regulatory foundation, the infrastructure and now the leadership team to build something significant — a bank that operates at the intersection of community bank’s trust and relationships with the speed and scale that modern financial technology enables,” Jaskiewicz said. B2 Bank is owned by Brian Barnes, founder and CEO of robo-advisory fintech M1 Finance.