Illinois Bank & Trust promoted Jeff Hultman to the position of president and CEO. Hultman succeeds Steven E. Ward, who will relocate and be named president of Centennial Bank and Trust in Denver.

Both Rockford, IL-based Illinois Bank & Trust and Centennial Bank and Trust are subsidiaries of Heartland Financial USA, a Dubuque, IA-based community bank holding company.

Hultman has most recently served as market president of Illinois Bank & Trust, having joined the bank in 2011 as executive vice president in charge of Commercial, Treasury Management and Private Banking. Previously, Hultman was Rockford Area president of Commercial Banking at JPMorgan Chase Bank, where he served in various commercial banking capacities for 14 years.

Ward completed a nearly eight-year stretch as president and CEO of Illinois Bank & Trust. During his tenure, the bank grew organically and through acquisition by 182% in total loans and by 219% in total deposits, doubling its market share in the Rockford MSA to 6.5%. Ward oversaw the name change from Riverside Community Bank to Illinois Bank & Trust and managed the acquisition of Freedom Bank locations in Sterling, Seaton and Rock Falls as well as the merger with IBT’s sister bank, Galena State Bank and Trust Company, with locations in Elizabeth, Stockton and Galena.