When Jim Reuter announced his retirement as CEO of Lakewood, Colorado-based FirstBank in February, he said he was “looking forward to pursuing other interests and taking on new challenges.”
As it turns out, his other interests include leading another bank.
Reuter will become president and CEO of First Interstate Bank, effective Nov. 1, the Billings, Montana-based lender announced Wednesday.
“His deep knowledge of our footprint, command of the regulatory and risk environment, and ability to implement organic growth initiatives that add value to clients and shareholders alike positions us well for future success,” First Interstate’s board chair, Stephen Bowman, said in a release. “We’re confident Jim’s leadership style will fit in seamlessly with our culture of integrity and commitment to helping people and their money work better together.”
Reuter, a 37-year banking veteran, will replace Kevin Riley — who has logged 38 years in banking himself. Riley announced his own retirement in June, adding that he would stay on at First Interstate until a successor is found.
But like Reuter, Riley also hesitated to put a bookend on his work life.
"This chapter in my career is ending," Riley said in June. "If something comes around that interests me going forward, I'll take a look at it."
Reuter joins a bank that, since Riley joined as CFO just over a decade ago, expanded to $30 billion in assets and a 14-state footprint. First Interstate counted $7 billion in assets and a three-state reach in 2013, but has completed seven acquisitions in the past 10 years, according to S&P Global. The largest of those came in 2021, when First Interstate bought South Dakota-based Great Western Bank in a $2 billion deal that added 170 branches and brought the Montana lender to eight new states.
“I’m energized by the growth momentum and position of strength that First Interstate has built over the last several years,” Reuter said in a statement Wednesday.
Reuter joined FirstBank in 1987 as an assistant vice president, according to his LinkedIn profile. He became chief operating officer in 1998 and stayed in that role for nearly two decades, the profile indicated.
Reuter moved up to CEO in 2017 and oversaw FirstBank as it grew from $17 billion in assets to roughly $28 billion now, First Interstate said.
And indeed, Reuter has at least some familiarity with First Interstate’s geography: It shares a two-state overlap — Colorado and Arizona — with FirstBank.
“It’s an honor to be joining an organization that prioritizes showing up for the communities it serves,” Reuter said Wednesday.
