Corporate Chief Information Officer, CIO

About The Role

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) is a senior executive leader responsible for defining and executing the institution's enterprise-wide technology strategy in alignment with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and risk appetite. Reporting to the Chief Experience Officer, the CIO oversees a team of ~150 and serves as a key advisor to executive leadership and the Board, ensuring that technology enables growth, operational efficiency, security, resilience, and an exceptional customer experience across all banking and financial services offerings.

The CIO will serve as a strategic technology leader capable of driving modernization, advancing digital transformation, and enabling innovation while maintaining disciplined governance and operational stability. This includes evolving the bank's core platforms, strengthening data and analytics capabilities, elevating cybersecurity posture, and ensuring that technology investments deliver measurable business value. The CIO will foster a culture of accountability, agility, and continuous improvement, positioning the bank to compete effectively in a rapidly changing financial landscape.

This is a Corporate position that is located in Kalispell, MT. All compensation offers are analyzed individually and take into consideration multiple factors including but not limited to geographic location, years of experience, and educational background.

• Develop and execute a multi-year enterprise technology strategy aligned with the institution's strategic plan, growth initiatives, and regulatory environment.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the CXO, CEO, executive leadership team, and Board on technology trends, opportunities, and risks affecting the financial services industry.
• Ensure technology investments deliver measurable business value and outcomes, strong ROI, and appropriate risk management.
• Demonstrate gravitas and credibility with senior leadership, the Board, and regulators. Communicate complex concepts clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences.
• Embed a customer-first mindset in technology decisions. Stay ahead of industry trends and emerging solutions that enhance client experience and operational performance.
• Collaborate across the organization to ensure technology decisions support enterprise priorities and communicate complex concepts clearly to executives, Board members, and regulators, demonstrating executive presence and strategic acumen.

• Oversee the design and implementation of comprehensive cybersecurity, data protection, and resilience programs to safeguard customer and institutional data.
• Ensure compliance with applicable banking and financial regulations (e.g., FDIC, OCC, FFIEC, PCI DSS, SOX, GLBA, and state regulatory requirements).
• Establish and maintain incident response, business continuity, and disaster recovery plans aligned with Board-approved risk appetite.

• Oversee enterprise IT architecture, core banking systems, applications, cloud platforms, networks, and data infrastructures to ensure reliability, scalability, and performance.
• Ensure the stability and resiliency of mission-critical systems supporting customer-facing and internal operations.
• Establish strong IT governance, controls, and performance metrics across the technology organization.

• Partner with business leadership to ensure the success of digital banking initiatives and infrastructure modernization programs, including online and mobile platforms, payments, data analytics, automation, and AI.
• Work with business leaders to evaluate and responsibly adopt emerging technologies such as AI, advanced analytics, and fintech partnerships to enhance competitiveness and customer experience.
• Foster a culture of innovation while maintaining sound risk management and regulatory compliance.
• Identify and evaluate emerging technologies that can enhance customer experience, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen risk management.

• Manage overall IT budget and cost optimization decisions, balancing financial benefit, time to value, technical and organizational risk, and investment requirements.
• Work with business leadership to manage relationships with technology vendors, fintech partners, and service providers to ensure value, reliability, and regulatory compliance.
• Partner closely with business leaders to deliver technology solutions that support revenue growth, efficiency, and risk controls.
• Ensure all major technology vendor contracts are properly vetted and negotiated before seeking final approval.

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing technology leadership team and workforce which prioritizes strong alignment and collaboration with the business.
• Build talent pipelines, succession plans, and workforce strategies aligned with evolving technology and banking…