By Andrea Brady
Building Kentucky
Republic Bank & Trust Company has announced the addition of Jeff Starke as Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer. Starke will lead technology team members and execute information technology (IT) strategy to deliver stable, secure, and innovative services for Republic’s employees and customers.
Starke joins Republic from Bank OZK in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was the Chief Technology Officer, served as Chair of the Information Systems Steering Committee, and held various IT leadership positions during his 11-year tenure.
Prior to joining Bank OZK, Starke was employed by a community bank acquired by Bank OZK. He holds an Associate of Science, Network Systems Administration degree from ITT Technical Institute of Greenfield, Wisconsin and is a certified Project Management Professional.
Jeff Starke
“We’re excited to have Jeff join our team to lead IT strategies. Republic has a long history of innovating for the future, and we pride ourselves on providing best-in-class mobile and online banking experiences for our clients. With Jeff’s expertise and leadership, we will continue to develop innovative ways of using technology to better serve our employees and customers in the communities where we do business,” said Logan Pichel, president of Republic Bank.
Starke’s experience encompasses managing technology resources, communications, data center operations, banking systems, project management, IT risk, and technology support.
Throughout his career, Starke has been instrumental in bringing new and innovative software platforms to life through custom software building and implementation. He successfully led the development of a new data center and served as the technology lead in 14 acquisitions, managing and coordinating the technology conversion activities and team integration.
“I’m very much looking forward to joining Republic’s first-class team. The Bank has built a strong foundation of innovation in technology and I’m eager to lead in this important area, sharing my expertise and experience to make it even stronger for the future,” Starke said.
