Bank of America named Scott Vanderpool president of Bank of America Phoenix and successor to current president Benito Almanza, who will retire April 6. Almanza provided 45 years of service to the company and spent 22 years as Phoenix and Arizona president.
In this role, Vanderpool will be responsible for connecting Bank of America’s banking and investment resources offered through the company’s eight lines of business to people and companies in the region. He will also leads the effort to deploy the company’s resources to help advance economic mobility and build strong communities.
Vanderpool joined Bank of America in 2007 and will retain his role as Phoenix market executive, leading operations for Phoenix and working in partnership with the company’s Phoenix leadership team to drive market share growth, employee engagement and the bank’s brand locally. Vanderpool previously held a leadership role as a business banking market executive with the company in Colorado.
During his career, Almanza delivered Bank of America’s resources to clients and communities in Phoenix and across Arizona, helping direct close to $125 million in philanthropic investments.
“Benito has led with distinction and made a lasting impact on our employees, clients and nonprofit organizations,” Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, said. “We thank him for breaking barriers and serving as a role model for so many and look forward to continued growth with Scott becoming the next Phoenix president.”
In addition to his Phoenix president roles, Almanza held leadership positions in a variety of areas within global commercial banking and business banking. As business banking vice chair, he deepened connections with the Hispanic and Latino communities and business owners through his leadership of Hispanic-Latino Business Councils and by driving key initiatives.
“The honor of representing Bank of America and creating meaningful change across so many sectors has been one of the privileges of my lifetime,” Almanza said. “With the bank’s resources, we have created positive, generational impacts, particularly in low- and moderate-income communities across Arizona. Having worked alongside Scott for many years now, our leadership team is in a great position to continue delivering what Phoenix’s economy needs from us. None of this would have been possible without my family, so I wish to acknowledge my wife, Rosa, and our children and grandchildren for their unwavering support.”
“I am looking forward to helping deliver on our continued commitment of Responsible Growth across Phoenix, a community I care deeply about,” Vanderpool said. “We have much to be proud of here in the Valley of the Sun, but we also have more work to do to build a more inclusive economy. Together with our Bank of America team, I know we can continue improving people’s financial lives.”
