Governance
02/13/2025

Avoiding Surprises When Planning for Succession at a Family-Owned Bank

Star Bank CEO Katie Wahlquist shares recent succession challenges and how she thinks about keeping her bank in the family.

Emily McCormick
Vice President of Editorial & Research
In July 2024, Katie Wahlquist became CEO of Maple Lake, Minnesota-based Star Bank, a $462 million institution that had been owned and led by her father and predecessor, Harry Wahlquist, since 1990. But the promotion was bittersweet: Harry had passed away after fighting pancreatic cancer. Katie had been his caregiver. Despite working side-by-side with her father for 15 years, she didn’t know she’d be CEO until just a few weeks before taking the job. She’s also spent the last seven months sorting out the bank’s ownership. Harry owned 100% of the bank, which has now passed to Katie and her…

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WRITTEN BY

Emily McCormick

Vice President of Editorial & Research

Emily McCormick is Vice President of Editorial & Research for Bank Director. Emily oversees research projects, from in-depth reports to Bank Director’s annual surveys on M&A, risk, compensation, governance and technology. She also manages content for the Bank Services Program, including Bank Director’s Online Training Series. In addition to speaking and moderating discussions at Bank Director’s in-person and virtual events, Emily writes and edits for Bank Director magazine, BankDirector.com and Bank Director’s weekly newsletter, The Slant. She started her career in the circulation department at the Knoxville News-Sentinel and graduated summa cum laude from The University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and International Business.