City National Bank hired Mathew Griesbach, a longtime and experienced banking professional, as senior vice president and head of its new Aerospace & Defense Banking Group based in San Diego.

Griesbach will manage the aerospace and defense industry segment nationally and look to hire additional staff as City National grows and expands its reach into the highly specialized industry. He will be responsible for managing and developing new middle market commercial clients in the aerospace and defense industry by providing them with tailored financial solutions and a robust offering of bank products and services to help them achieve their business goals.

As part of the bank’s Commercial Banking Division, Griesbach will work closely with the middle market managers in cities like San Diego, Los Angeles and Washington D.C., to help source new business. He will also interact with other areas of the bank, such as Personal & Business Banking, Private Banking, Wealth Management, Real Estate Banking and others to enhance existing relationships and develop new business opportunities throughout the country.

Griesbach will report to Michael Walker, executive vice president and head of the Commercial Banking Division. Griesbach will build out a team of A&D banking specialists in key markets around the country over the next year.

“This is a strategic hire for City National and one that we are very excited about because it provides us with the expertise we need to make significant inroads into a highly specialized industry all across the country,” said Walker.

Griesbach joins City National from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he most recently served as co-head of the bank’s Aerospace & Defense Commercial Banking Group Western Region. During his 20-plus year career in the banking industry, he also worked for General Electric as a risk manager and account manager. He began his banking career as a credit analyst with Bank of America in 1998.