MidWestOne CEO Charlie Funk to retire

Charlie Funk will step down as CEO of MidWestOne Financial Group later this year after more than two decades with the bank.

Funk joined Iowa City-based MidWestOne in 2000 and has served as CEO since March 2008, the hilding company said in a news release Monday.

He served as president of the company and the bank from November 2000 to July 2020. During his career, Funk also worked for three other Midwest-based banks and has taught at the Colorado Graduate School of Banking in Boulder, the Iowa School of Banking and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Georgetown University.

“As CEO of MidWestOne, he has prioritized integrity and family-oriented community banking and led the organization from less than $500 million in assets and approximately 200 employees in 2000, to nearly $6 billion in assets and 750 employees today with locations in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado and Florida,“ Kevin Monson, company and bank chairman of the board, said in the release.

MidWestOne's board hired executive search firm Spencer Stuart to help identify Funk's successor.

Funk will remain with the company until a successor is named as well as serve as a member of the company's board.

The Iowa Bankers Association presented him with its James A. Leach Leadership Award this past September for his long service to the industry.

“The impact he’s had on our industry and within his community is immeasurable, and will extend generations due to the countless people he has taught and mentored over the years,” IBA President and CEO John Sorensen said as part of the presentation.

Funk is a member of the American Bankers Association and its board of directors and the Community Bank Group and was a member of the board of directors of Folience, parent company of The Gazette.