Umpqua Bank named Käthe Anchel the bank’s first head of innovation. Anchel, a leader in the area of fintech customer experience, will lead Umpqua’s innovation team under Rilla Delorier, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, and focus on building a network of strategic partnerships.

“Umpqua believes that human relationships and expertise are central to the best banking relationships, which is why Käthe is a terrific fit to help us advance our human digital banking strategy,” said Delorier.

Before joining Umpqua, Anchel served as director of product management at Citi FinTech, the innovation and experimentation arm of Citi Bank. In that role, she oversaw the rapid testing, evolution and delivery of new consumer products. She managed similar initiatives as head of U.S. consumer solutions at PayPal and at eBay Enterprise, where she led the user experience group for one of the world’s leading eCommerce platforms.

An advocate of financial health, Anchel also advises start-ups in the financial literacy space, especially those focused on equipping families with the tools needed to teach life-long financial empowerment to young people.