Lincoln Savings Bank Builds Fintech Power Team Adding New Strategic Innovation Officer On October 1st, Lincoln Savings Bank (LSB) brought long-time fintech strategist Ryan Hildebrand on board to lead its innovation efforts. He will serve as Strategic Innovation Officer (SIO) and President of LSBX, the digital and fintech partnership side of the bank. In this newly created role, Ryan will be working to connect community banking to fintech banking – seeking partnerships, and launching new products with fintech partners to ensure best-in-class service and technology.  Although LSB is 120 years old, they have been an early adopter of fintech partnerships, their first dating back to 2014 and now partnering with many of the newest and most successful fintechs in the world.  In fact, LSB is the 41st largest bank in the country by number of customers. “This opportunity is perfect for me. With years of both banking and fintech experience, I can bring my vision and leadership to the organization, and blend the two so we can continue to move quickly – at the speed of innovation, without losing the pillars of LSB’s community banking roots,” stated Hildebrand. Ryan comes most recently from Cross River Bank where he served as SVP Fintech Banking. He co-founded Seed, the first business neobank in the US and backed by YCombinator and other top Silicon Valley investors, which he sold to Cross River. Before Seed, Ryan was VP of Finance and Strategy at Simple, where he led the sale of Simple to BBVA. A CPA by education, Ryan got his accounting degree from Oregon State University, and began his career as an Auditor for PriceWaterhouseCoopers with a brief stint at Umpqua Bank in Portland. His first startup, Strands, sold fintech banking software to some of the largest banks in Europe. “This is definitely a passion for me – and an opportunity to be entrepreneurial, but with the platform of a successful bank with solid investors. I was also drawn to LSB because the commitment to being a leader in this area is clear – even at the board level, the culture at LSB is exactly what a community bank needs to make that happen. They understand the pace of change, and the challenges the industry faces, and they embrace it with innovation,” stated Hildebrand. When not at work, Ryan stays busy at his ranch in Newberg, Oregon with his wife, three kids and a growing herd of animals.  “We are beyond thrilled to have Ryan on our team – leading the way in fintech and innovation.  His experience and success speaks for itself and we know he’ll help LSB stay on the cutting edge. And, with his banking background he brings a unique perspective, always focusing on the customer and the customer experience – which is so important to us,” stated Erik Skovgard (CEO). To learn more about Ryan, you can find him at: www.linkedin.com/in/fintechrancher.