Joshua Murphy Named Commercial Banker, VP at Wisconsin Bank & Trust

CONTACT: Curtis Chrystal
President & CEO
608.203.1224
CChrystal@wisconsinbankandtrust.com

Beth Rowe
Marketing and Public Relations Director, VP
563.589.2059
BRowe@dubuquebank.com 

JOSHUA MURPHY NAMED COMMERCIAL BANKER, VP AT WISCONSIN BANK & TRUST

October 31, 2019 — MADISON, WI — Wisconsin Bank & Trust is pleased to announce that Joshua Murphy has joined the organization as a Commercial Banker, Vice President. Joshua will primarily be responsible for providing customized, consultative commercial banking, treasury management and payment solutions that will help business clients achieve their financial goals. He has over 10 years of experience within the banking industry, which consists of consumer lending, retail management and Treasury Management/Commercial Banking.

“Joshua is an experienced Commercial Banker with a demonstrated history of providing business clients with solutions that accelerate growth, build efficiencies and much more,” said Curtis Chrystal, President and CEO of Wisconsin Bank & Trust. “We are happy to have him help deliver financial expertise and experience to our clients.”

Murphy earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Management & Finance from Maranatha Baptist University (MBU) in Watertown, Wisconsin. He currently serves as Vice President for a local business networking group, is an active member of the First Tee of South Central Wisconsin’s Young Professional Advisory Council as well as the Monona East Side Business Alliance (MESBA). He is also involved with a local non-profit, Affordable Health Care.

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About Wisconsin Bank and Trust Company

Wisconsin Bank and Trust Company (WBT), a subsidiary of Heartland Financial USA, Inc., (NASDAQ: HTLF), is a state chartered bank with more than $1.031 billion in assets and serving customers throughout our 14 different branches within Wisconsin. The bank specializes in business lending and deposit services, and provides a wide variety of personal credit and deposit services along with complete electronic banking programs. For more information visit www.wisconsinbankandtrust.com or call 877.280.1855. Wisconsin Bank & Trust is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and an Equal Housing Lender.

About Heartland Financial USA, Inc.
Heartland is a diversified financial services company with assets of approximately $12 billion. The company provides banking, mortgage, private client, investment, treasury management, card services, insurance, and consumer finance services to individuals and businesses. Heartland currently has 115 banking locations serving 84 communities in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Texas and California. Additional information about Heartland is available at www.htlf.com.

Joanna Trygstad joins NGL as Vice President, Policy Administration

National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) is pleased to welcome Joanna K. Trygstad to the team as Vice President, Policy Administration. Trygstad oversees the policy administration services, claims, underwriting, agent support and customer services.

“Joanna is a results-driven collaborative leader who empowers the people on her teams to focus on customer service excellence. Her background in the insurance industry and ability to inspire her teams will help guide our company as we focus on growing and transforming our preneed line of business,” said David M. Anderson, NGL Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Most recently, Trygstad was Vice President, Business Transformation at Thrivent Financial. She spent 12 years at the organization in a variety of operations, human resources and strategy leadership roles, with a focus on organizational and operational effectiveness initiatives to continuously improve business alignment and performance.

Prior to joining Thrivent, she served in an operations management role at an online university dedicated to providing equal access for higher education. Additionally, Trygstad is an experienced international corporate and executive coach for all management levels.

“I’m excited to join NGL. I look forward to collaborating across all teams to further strengthen our top-notch customer service for agents and policyholders,” said Trygstad.

Trygstad holds a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis on Finance and International Business from University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. She also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and German from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minn. Trygstad participated in exchange programs during both undergraduate and graduate programs at University of Freiburg in Germany and University of Sankt Gallen in Switzerland, respectively. Trygstad earned a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt in 2011.

Growing up in the mountains of Northern California, Trygstad is passionate about conservation and global resiliency. Trygstad has been active with various organizations engaged in the development and deployment of micro-insurance solutions in emerging markets, and she has volunteered multiple times internationally with Habitat for Humanity. She currently lives in Appleton, Wis. with her husband, Andy, and two sons.

About NGL

Since 1910, National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL), a mutual insurance company, has been located in Madison, Wis. Licensed to do business in 49 states and the District of Columbia, NGL markets preneed and individual life and annuities, as well as group markets products. Information about NGL can be found at www.nglic.com; Facebook: Facebook.com/NGLIC and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-guardian-life-insurance-company.

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VanBuskirk Joins M3 as Account Executive

Madison, WI – James VanBuskirk recently joined M3 Insurance as a property and casualty account executive. In this role, consults with and advises small market clients on the design, implementation and management of their business insurance coverage.

James is a licensed property and casualty insurance agent in Wisconsin, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Prior to joining M3, James developed and managed a start-up insurance agency in the Washington, D.C. area which focused on commercial insurance for small businesses and personal coverage for high net worth individuals.  In June 2018, James sold his agency in preparation to move to Wisconsin. He is currently enrolled in the Executive MBA (Master of Business Administration) program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In his free time, James enjoys spending time with his wife and giving back to our community by delivering meals to elderly and home-bound individuals with Independent Living’s Evening Meals on Wheels program. He is also an active volunteer with the Ironman Wisconsin event as well as Catholic Charities of Chicago and is a member of the University of Maryland Alumni Association.

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About M3

M3 is the largest insurance broker and risk management firm in the state of Wisconsin. As a top 50 broker in America, we’re leaders in the products we represent and the industries we serve. M3’s people are an extension of your team, providing world-class resources to help you manage risk, purchase insurance, and provide employee benefits. And our focus on community builds better places to live and work.

Christa Schonscheck Joins State Bank of Cross Plains as In-House Portfolio Manager and Trust Officer

October 21, 2019, MADISON, Wisconsin— State Bank of Cross Plains (SBCP) welcomes Christa Schonscheck, CFP®, APMA®, CRPC®, CLTC® as an in-house investment portfolio manager and trust officer.

Schonscheck works in collaboration with the bank’s entire wealth management team to help customize the investing experience and provide local management of funds. In this unique melding of roles, she serves customers both behind-the-scenes through research and fund management and face-to-face through client meetings to answer questions about why specific funds are chosen for individual portfolios.

“I’m very passionate about financial literacy,” explains Schonscheck. “Financial planning requires a dialogue. Everyone at every stage of investing should feel welcome to ask questions and fully understand how the process works. My goal is to analyze the complexities of each unique financial situation, create a strategy, and have a collaborative conversation about the next steps. I want everyone to feel comfortable, included, and empowered regarding their finances.”

Schonscheck not only brings seven years of experience in all areas of wealth management, she has also worked diligently to advance her financial education, recognized as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor (APMA®), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®), and Certification in Long-Term Care (CLTC®) professional.

In addition to her work at State Bank of Cross Plains, Schonscheck and her husband own a small business providing pet boarding. She also serves as a volunteer for Lucky Mutts Rescue and competes with her Australian Shepherd in conformation in American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club, and Australian Shepherd Club of America.

“Christa has a great combination of experience, accreditation, and technical ability to perform all the day-to-day back-office work paired with the personality to provide great customer service during interactions with our clients,” shares Mark Drachenberg, CFP®, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager for SBCP’s Wealth Management Division. “I’m excited to have someone with her impressive experience and ability on our team!”

The Wealth Management Division at State Bank of Cross Plains is headquartered in the Madison office and provides a full spectrum of business and personal financial services, including:

• Comprehensive financial planning services
• Retirement income management
• Risk management (insurance)
• Education funding
• In-house investment portfolio managers
• Trust and Estate Administration
• Business Continuation and Succession Planning

Anyone can work with the wealth management team at State Bank of Cross Plains. Specifically, customers do NOT need to bank at SBCP or live or work in the bank’s service area. For more information about the financial planning and trust services available through the SBCP Wealth Management Division, visit sbcp.bank or call (608) 826-3570.

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State Bank of Cross Plains is known for our modern, progressive approach to supporting businesses and consumers by offering services more typical of larger financial institutions in an environment that values one-on-one personal relationships and community involvement. Thanks to our recent merger, State Bank of Cross Plains is a $1.3 billion institution, offering a full range of business and personal financial services including business, real estate, and consumer lending, as well as wealth management and financial advisory services. We now also provide Crop Insurance and Ag Lending Services. SBCP has 15 convenient locations in Dane, Rock, and Green Counties. Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender.

For additional information, please visit sbcp.bank or contact VP-Marketing Director Darin Tessier at 608-826-3514.

Naviant, Inc. Names New President & CEO

Media contact: Jen Hein, 608-848-0873, jhein@naviant.com

Naviant, Inc. Names New President & CEO

October 16, 2019 Madison WI & Middleburg Heights OH – Naviant, Inc. based in Verona WI has named Michael Carr the new President & CEO.  

“Michael has been instrumental in the development of our vision, mission, values, business strategies, culture, and financial discipline.”, says Mike Suter, the former President & CEO. Suter founded Naviant in 1986, and with the help of a strong executive team, has grown the organization into Hyland Software’s #1 OnBase & Brainware Partner for Capture & Commercial Excellence.

President Carr says, “I am looking forward to the future of Naviant where our continued success will allow us to impact more clients, grow individual careers for our employees, and make significant contributions to the communities we call home.”

In addition, Elizabeth Skolaski will assume an elevated role as the Executive Vice President & COO of Naviant. Skolaski says, “Our continued investment in the right strategies, partners and people have allowed us to grow and serve more clients, and create opportunities for staff to flourish in new roles.”  Since 2007, both Elizabeth and Michael have worked collaboratively in Executive Leadership roles to help Naviant achieve growth goals and become a top partner within the enterprise content management industry. Mike Suter will remain the Founder & Owner of Naviant and is committed to continued investment and growth in the Verona WI-based company.

About Naviant
Business processes and solutions that empower better and faster decisions are what we do best. As a nationally-recognized document management solutions integrator and business process consulting organization with over 30 years of experience, our clients do more with less by streamlining processes and gaining visibility into the information they need to make better decisions. As a long-standing key partner of Hyland Software, Naviant helps organizations operate more efficiently using the OnBase software platform, Brainware intelligent capture platform, Kryon Robotics Process Automation platform. Naviant is a top-tier partner for OnBase, a single enterprise information platform for managing content, processes, and cases, that combines ECM, case management, business process management (BPM), records management, compliance, and capture functionality on a single platform. In addition, Naviant also partners with Kryon Systems for Robotics Process Automation (RPA) technology to enable organizations to drive business agility and efficiency by offloading repetitive high-volume work to a digital workforce (aka software robots). Process focus. Excellence.

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