UMB Bank announces new leadership for Arizona region

UMB Bank, n.a., a subsidiary of UMB Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: UMBF) announces Robert Faver as the new Regional CEO for the Arizona Region. Faver succeeds Jim Patterson, who served as the market leader for 10 years and is retiring after more than 45 years in the banking industry to spend time with family. Patterson and Faver have been colleagues since 2001, the last 10 years of which have been at UMB.

Patterson will assume the role of vice chairman of the Arizona region and serve on the UMB Advisory Board for the remainder of the year to ensure continuity for the bank’s clients, prospects and community. In his time as the market leader, Patterson was named one of the top three bankers in Arizona for 2020 and the Lifetime Achievement recipient of the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2019 Most Admired Leaders award.

“I will cherish the time I spent leading this region and am proud of the work we did while serving our Arizona customers and helping them with their banking needs. And while I will miss the company, my colleagues and clients, I can’t think of anyone more qualified to fill my role than Robert,” said Patterson. “We have worked together for many years and I am actually responsible for recruiting him to UMB 10 years ago. He is an ambitious and strong leader with a passion for banking and I look forward to seeing the great work he will accomplish over the years.”

In his new role, Faver will be responsible for all banking, wealth management and retail operations for the region. He has served alongside Patterson for 10 years and has been in the banking industry for more than 25 years.

“I’m extremely excited about this new career opportunity and for having the privilege to walk in Jim’s footsteps. He has been a great partner, mentor and friend and has grown our business tremendously over the years – something I will continue to strive to achieve in this role,” said Faver, president of UMB Bank in Arizona. “I believe the best is yet to come for UMB and am eager to continue this exponential growth while creating and maintaining relationships with our clients and customers.”

Brad Casper steps down as OH Partners CEO

On the heels of the agency’s eighth consecutive Inc. 5000 honor, OH Partners CEO Brad Casper announced his resignation to all employees on a Zoom call Tuesday.

Casper joined OH Partners as executive chairman in May 2016 after a brief stint as a consultant and became CEO in 2018. For eight years prior to Casper’s arrival, co-founders Matt Owens and Scott Harkey had grown OH Partners into one of the state’s largest full-service agencies. With the addition of Matt Moore as partner and chief marketing officer, OH Partners gained a reputation for award-winning creative work in addition to its strategic marketing expertise. The partners believed that in order to accelerate their trajectory and position the agency as a national player, they would benefit from a seasoned veteran with experience in global leadership and brand development. Casper fit the bill, and the agency continued to soar.

From 2016-2019, OH Partners grew its revenue by more than 400% and quadrupled its headcount, securing the agency’s place on lists ranging from AdWeek’s Fastest Growing Agencies to Phoenix Business Journal’s top agency in Arizona, plus several Arizona Corporate Excellence (ACE) awards.

Over the last four years, OH Partners added an impressive array of Arizona-based and national clients, including the Arizona Lottery, Gila River Hotels & Casinos, Salt River Project, Arizona Department of Health Services, Bayless Integrated Healthcare, Energizer Auto brands Armor All and STP, Bar-S Foods, Virgin Hotels and countless others.

“We’ve accomplished a lot in the past four and a half years at OH. I came here to help grow this agency, and I’m proud to say that we’ve done it,” says Casper. “As a CEO, few things mean as much in one’s career as the people you are surrounded by. I’m fortunate that in my time at OH, I’ve worked with some of the greatest advertising and marketing talent in the country from employees to clients to vendors.”

4 new board members elected at Arizona Citizens for the Arts

Rose Ann Forte
Stuart Graff

The Arizona Citizens for the Arts Board of Directors has elected Stuart Graff, President and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, as chairman.  The board also elected four new members including, for the first time in recent years, a member from Yuma, Rose Ann Forte, who was elected as treasurer.

Joining Graff on the executive committee are Vice Chair Ryan Smeets, Founder of EARN Modern Talent; Treasurer Rose Ann Forte, Partner at Southwest Capital Partners in Yuma; and Secretary Anne Kleindienst of Kleindienst Law, PLC.

Other new board members are Eric McCarthy, Business Development at Harkins Theatres; Bill Way, Director, MCE Social Capital; and Mary Way, Executive Director, Southwest Shakespeare Festival.

Each director will serve a three-year term on the board.

“We continue to expand the depth and breadth of the board by engaging with professionals in a range of industries with an incredible diversity of experience and expertise,” said Arizona Citizens for the Arts Executive Director Joseph Benesh. “The arts and cultural community in Arizona will certainly benefit from their collective strength.”

For more information, visit www.azcitizensforthearts.org or call (602) 253-6535.

Chris Corso joins Kidder Mathews’ Phoenix office

Chris Corso has joined Kidder Mathews’ Phoenix office as a vice president, where he will specialize in landlord and tenant representation for retail properties.

Corso has been in the commercial real estate industry for nearly 15 years. Before joining Kidder Mathews, he was with De Rito Partners in Scottsdale, Arizona. Clients he has represented include Buffalo Wild Wings, Optimyze, Denny’s, and Dunkin Donuts.