Longtime banking executive Ron Seiffert dies of natural causes at 65
Ron Seiffert, a longtime Columbus banking executive and the chairman, president and CEO of Northwest Bank, died unexpectedly of natural causes Tuesday at age 65.
“Ron was a friend to everyone at Northwest and the communities that we call home,” Timothy Fannin, the bank's lead director, said in a press release. “We mourn for his family and wish them peace during this most difficult time. Ron was passionate about Northwest and committed to making a difference across Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and Indiana. He took great pride in the relationships the bank had with its customers and appreciated the exceptional loyalty of Northwest Bank employees.”
Seiffert became the top executive of Northwest Bank in 2017 and led the relocation of the bank's corporate offices from Pennsylvania to Columbus.
Before that, Seiffert was the top executive of the former Delaware County Bank, taking over a bank struggling under a pile of bad loans made in the runup to the Great Recession. The bad loads were addressed, the bank diversified its lending strategy and began to consistently turn a profit.
The bank was sold to First Commonwealth Financial of Indiana, Pennsylvania, in 2017.
Before that, Seiffert served as executive vice president and national head of business banking for the former Bank One and spent 23 years with Huntington Bancshares, the last five as vice chairman.
He also served as CFO and vice president of university resources at Ohio Dominican University, where he also was the interim president for 18 months
Northwest has picked former CFO William Harvey Jr. as it interim president and CEO. Fannin, lead director, will be the interim chairman of the board.
Seiffert is survived by his wife, three daughters, two sons-in-law and four grandchildren.
@E_SkidmoreGS
eskidmore@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Northwest Bank executive dies at 65 of natural causes
