Busey Bank in leadership transition

Deb Pressey, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·2 min read

Oct. 28—URBANA — First Busey Corp. President and CEO Van Dukeman has assumed the role of president and CEO of Busey Bank after the resignation earlier this week of Robin Elliott.

The president and CEO of Busey Bank since May 2019, Elliott will remain with Busey in a consulting role through the end of the year.

The change in leadership was made public in an SEC filing that included a separation letter and agreement.

The agreement calls for Elliott to resign from his role as president and CEO of Busey Bank as of this past Monday, but to continue to be paid his current base salary and assist with the transition of his job duties until Dec. 31.

It also calls for him to be paid about $1.96 million in severance and cash for the pro rata value of restricted stock units to be forfeited at his departure.

"The mutually agreed-upon decision to part ways was not based on any misconduct, nor does it represent a shift in Busey's strategy, services or growth model," Dukeman said.

"I extend our sincere gratitude to Mr. Elliott for his service to Busey over the past 17 years," he said. "During his tenure, we have made progressive strides to advance our company and its offerings. We appreciate his innovative contributions and wish him the best in future endeavors."

In addition to assuming Elliott's job with Busey Bank, Dukeman will be continuing in his other role with First Busey, the bank's parent company.

"As it has for over 155 years, Busey remains committed to progress through partnerships, collaboration, leading for sustained growth, service excellence and the longevity of Busey and its Pillars-associates, customers, communities, and shareholders," Dukeman said.

"Together with the boards and executive team, we will continue building upon the strategic initiatives of the company and serving the communities where we live and work," he said. "We have talented, experienced and diverse leadership teams in various positions across the company who will assist us during the transition period and beyond."