Marquette Financial Companies (MFC) announced it elected Larry West as CEO. In his new role, West will oversee MFC operations, including the banking operations of Meridian Bank and Meridian Bank Texas from the company’s headquarters in Scottsdale. He will retain his role as CEO for Meridian Bank.

MFC, a $1.4 billion financial services organization which is owned by the Pohlad family of Minneapolis, includes eight locations of Meridian Bank in Arizona, as well as five banking locations of Meridian Bank Texas in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. MFC also includes Marquette Asset Management, Marquette Transportation Finance and Marquette Business Credit.

West is a native Arizonan with more than 35 years of professional experience, primarily in the financial services industry. Prior to Meridian, he held various leadership positions in commercial banking, equipment finance and retail banking. Under West’s leadership since 2010, MFC and Meridian Bank achieved a significant turnaround with improvements in operating performance and asset quality. Most recently, Meridian Bank Texas acquired State Bank and Trust in Fort Worth, which added three bank locations and 30 employees.

“Not only has Larry significantly improved our financial standing and performance, but he also has retained and recruited the best people, which has further strengthened our organization and allowed us to grow,” said Bert Colianni, director of Marquette Financial Companies and CEO of Marquette Companies.

“I look forward to continued profitable growth in each of our businesses as we focus on providing common sense banking solutions for our customers. Our people have done a terrific job top to bottom and they have a lot to be proud of,” West said.