The founding CEO of Alliance Bank of Arizona, James H. Lundy, will retire on March 31, 2017. Don H. Garner, also a member of the organization’s original management team, will become the new CEO effective January 1, 2017.

A force in the Arizona business community and an accomplished banker, Lundy helped build a start-up bank in 2003 into the fourth largest banking organization in Arizona. Alliance Bank of Arizona is part of the $17 billion Western Alliance Bancorporation, a Phoenix-based financial services company with five geographically managed banking divisions and 10 national business lines across the country.

“I’m proud of the team we’ve built, the ability we showed in navigating the financial crisis and the success we have helped fuel for so many business clients across Arizona,” said Lundy. “Our customers will always be at the core of Alliance Bank of Arizona, and Don Garner brings tremendous credentials and great experience to the task of leading this client-focused organization.”

Garner has been a commercial and real estate banker in Arizona for 26 years and previously served as executive vice president and statewide real estate manager for Alliance Bank of Arizona’s commercial and residential lending group. Garner started his career at Valley National Bank in 1990 and has been with Alliance Bank since its inception in 2003.

“Taking the reins at this outstanding banking organization is an honor for me, and I will work to bring leadership that follows Jim Lundy’s example of valuing individual contributions, entrepreneurial thinking and knowledgeable, locally committed banking,” said Garner. “I am very much looking forward to this exciting opportunity.”