Simone Lagomarsino

Simone Lagomarsino, former president and CEO of Heritage Oaks Bancorp, has been named president of the California Bankers Association.

The association made the announcement April 11. She will replace Rod Brown, who plans to retire after a decade at the helm of the organization.

Lagomarsino joined Heritage Oaks in September 2011, with more than 20 years of experience in executive positions at financial institutions in Southern California, and during her tenure the bank achieved its best financial performance in its 30-year history.

“Simone Lagomarsino will be a strong and dynamic leader for the CBA,” said Louise Walker, chairman of the board of the CBA and president and CEO of First Northern Bank based in Dixon. “With a banking career spanning more than three decades, Simone is uniquely familiar with the many challenges and opportunities currently before our industry. The CBA and California’s entire banking community will benefit greatly from her vast experience across the financial services industry and the strong voice she will be for our membership.

Pacific Premier recently acquired Heritage Oaks in an all stock deal valued at $405.6 million.

“I am honored to have been chosen to lead the CBA and excited about this new opportunity,” Lagomarsino said. “Given the ongoing regulatory pressures our banks continue to face, I look forward to being a passionate and vocal advocate for our members helping to ensure that they have an operating environment supportive of their dedicated efforts to help California’s economy grow, and to serve their local communities and customers.”

Prior to her role at Heritage Oaks Bank, Lagomarsino held executive positions with Hawthorne Financial, Warner Center Bank, Ventura County National Bank, First Plus Bank, Imperial Financial Group and Kinecta Federal Credit Union. She earned an MBA with an emphasis in finance from Claremont Graduate School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Claremont McKenna College.

• Contact Joshua Molina at jmolina@pacbiztimes.com.