Umpqua Bank Names Kathe Anchel EVP, Head of Innovation
Umpqua Bank, a subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corporation (NASDQ: UMPQ), announced today that it has named Käthe Anchel the bank’s first head of innovation. Anchel, a leader in the area of fintech customer experience, will lead Umpqua’s innovation team under Rilla Delorier, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, with a focus on building a network of strategic partnerships to accelerate the development and delivery of Umpqua’s Human Digital banking strategy.
According to Delorier, Anchel’s addition marks an important next step in advancing Umpqua’s ability to offer digital solutions that provide a smart, personalized customer experience across all segments.
“Umpqua believes that human relationships and expertise are central to the best banking relationships, which is why Käthe is a terrific fit to help us advance our Human Digital banking strategy,” said Delorier. “Käthe’s career at some of the country’s most innovative companies has focused on building more human, transformative customer experiences through technology. She’s also done amazing work establishing strategic partnerships that leverage outside expertise to design solutions that enhance customer experience and strengthen brand loyalty. We’re thrilled to have someone of her caliber helping to drive our strategy forward.”
Last November, Umpqua unveiled its Human Digital banking strategy, which uses technology to make banking more personal, consultative and scalable. The bank has now successfully launched Umpqua Go-ToTM, the industry’s first Human Digital banking platform, which gives every customer a personal banker devoted to their financial needs. The addition of Anchel comes as Umpqua Go-ToTM becomes available to all customers, and the bank pursues strategic partnerships that will enable it to continue evolving the platform while developing new offerings for customers. In 2019, Anchel’s focus will be on building internal innovation practices and external partnerships that empower Umpqua to continue redefining the customer experience across all segments.
Before joining Umpqua, Anchel served as director of product management at Citi FinTech, the innovation and experimentation arm of Citi Bank. In that role, she oversaw the rapid testing, evolution and delivery of new consumer products. She managed similar initiatives as head of U.S. consumer solutions at PayPal and at eBay Enterprise, where she led the user experience group for one of the world’s leading eCommerce platforms. An advocate of financial health, Anchel also advises start-ups in the financial literacy space, especially those focused on equipping families with the tools needed to teach life-long financial empowerment to young people.
About Umpqua Bank
Umpqua Bank is a subsidiary of Columbia Banking System Inc., and a premier regional bank in the Western U.S., operating in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Colorado. With over $50 billion of assets, Umpqua combines the resources, sophistication and expertise of a national bank with a commitment to deliver personalized service at scale. The bank consistently ranks as one of America’s Best Banks (ranked by Forbes) and supports consumers and businesses through a full suite of services, including retail and commercial banking; Small Business Administration lending; institutional and corporate banking; equipment leasing; and wealth management. The company is headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and trades under the ticker symbol COLB on the Nasdaq. Learn more at https://www.umpquabank.com.