Erb Named CFO Award Recipient
Kent Erb, The Citizens State Bank’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has been named as an honoree by The Wichita Business Journal.
Erb was part of the newspaper’s 13th annual CFO awards class featuring 20 area business people. He was recognized at a Jan. 28 luncheon at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita.
In his fourth year at The Citizens State Bank, Erb has worked in banking since his freshman year at Bethel College, covering nearly 30 years.
“Math and numbers have always been interesting to me and I enjoy being able to analyze data to forecast outcomes along with the process of tracking down reconciliation discrepancies,” Erb said. “But my first experience with finance actually came from an accounting class I had in high school.”
Erb said that working in community banks throughout his career has provided great mentoring and opportunities to learn many of the facets making up the banking industry.
“I’ve been provided numerous opportunities to expand my knowledge of each role in the bank and it instilled in me a passion for giving back to the community,” he said. “At a community bank, the old adage is that you wear many hats. In addition to my CFO responsibilities, I also am involved in information technology, compliance, human resources, operations, asset-liability management and as secretary to the board of directors.”
When he’s away from the bank, Erb stays busy in Rotary and is executive secretary for Rotary District 5680. He also serves on the board of directors at Health Ministries.
Erb said that his recent recognition was more than just hard work, but also thanks to a network of mentors he’s had over the years.
“When I began my career in banking as a teller, I did not have aspirations of becoming the CFO for a large community bank but through a number of fortunate opportunities, I have been blessed to now work for a family-owned community bank that holds the same values as I have,” Erb said. “I have been surrounded by numerous mentors who I learn from each day and value their expertise in the many areas of banking and in life. I have a great team to work with and I look forward to each day.”
PHOTO: Mark Schemlzle with Allen, Gibbs & Houlik, L.C., presents a plaque commemorating Kent Erb, CFO at The Citizens State Bank as one of only 20 area business people designated as top tier financial officers.
Are you a Chamber member who would like to feature a story in our website’s Chamber news? Send your story, along with a featured image, to Rachael Gibbons at rachael@newtonchamberks.org!
