Western Alliance completes management shuffle with hire of credit chief

Caitlin O'Hara/Bloomberg

Western Alliance Bank has hired a new chief credit officer, the final step in a multiyear executive management reorganization that was designed to ensure leadership continuity.

Lynne Biggio Herndon joined Phoenix-based Western Alliance this week from PNC Financial Services Group, where she was a commercial credit executive for that bank's western region, Western Alliance said in a press release. Herndon is a member of the executive leadership team at Western Alliance and chairs the bank's senior loan committee, according to the release.

Herndon, who is a certified public accountant, is based in Phoenix and reports to President and CEO Ken Vecchione, a company spokesperson said Friday in an email. Before working at PNC, Herndon had senior credit jobs at BBVA USA, the bulk of which was acquired by Pittsburgh-based PNC in 2021, and Regions Bank in Birmingham, Alabama.

Herndon's "decades of experience managing complex credits and implementing sound risk management practices will complement [the bank's] already strong credit function and ensure that we maintain our industry-leading asset quality," Vecchione said in the release.

Herndon's appointment comes about 15 months after Western Alliance, the banking unit of $70.9 billion-asset Western Alliance Bancorp., promoted several senior executives and created a new executive leadership team to be in charge of making "key policy decisions and guiding the strategic direction of the company," according to a press release at the time. 

The realignment followed a contract extension for Vecchione that was viewed by some analysts as a way to reinforce stability in the company's leadership after its former executive chairman, Robert Sarver, resigned his post and gave up his seat on the bank's board of directors. Sarver's departure came amid allegations that he had used racially insensitive language and engaged in misogynistic conduct while he was the owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball team. 

Including Herndon and Vecchione, Western Alliance's executive leadership team now has nine members, including four women, the bank's spokesperson said.

Herndon succeeds Tim Bruckner, who is Western Alliance's chief banking officer for regional banking, the bank said. Bruckner was promoted to the newly created job in September 2022, but the transition was delayed until the bank hired a new chief credit officer, according to the bank spokesperson. 

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Together, Bruckner and Steve Curley will lead Western Alliance's "strategy to be the nation's leader in commercial banking," Vecchione said this week in the company's press release. In September 2022, Curley became chief banking officer for national business lines.

Herndon is coming on board less than a year after Western Alliance endured major deposit outflows in the wake of last spring's bank failures. The company saw its stock price plummet as investors worried that more regional banks might be at risk of failing. 

By the end of the third quarter, however, Western Alliance's deposits and its stock price had both largely stabilized. Deposits grew by $3.2 billion, or 6.4%, between the second and third quarters, ending the latter period at $54.3 billion.

As of Friday, Western Alliance's stock price has risen about 45% over the past three months.