Old National's Jim Ryan on the things that really matter

Jim Ryan has led Old National Bank through a massive wave of growth — through major mergers and organic growth, the Evansville, Indiana-based bank has reached $70 billion in assets and a footprint that extends from Minnesota to Tennessee. The bank has grown by 250% since Ryan moved into the CEO role in 2019. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Intrafi's Banking with Interest podcast — Ryan discusses: The bank's growing profile, including its new marketing partnership with the on-fire Indiana Fever. Why the bank remains committed to its hometown of Evansville, even as it grows into a more expansive regional bank. His views on deposit insurance reform and areas other areas of focus as chair of the American Bankers Council, ABA's peer group for midsize bank CEOs. Ryan also discusses the experience of leading Old National through the devastating mass shooting at a Louisville, Kentucky, bank branch in 2023 — a tragedy that claimed the lives of 5 victims, all of them bank employees. "We always felt like we were a family, but that definition of family was completely reinforced," he says. "After you go through a tragedy like that, it takes a lot of love, it takes a lot of support, and it takes a lot of care."