Longtime banking veteran Phil Donnelly has joined Veritex Community Bank as the bank’s Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel. In addition to leading the bank’s legal team, Donnelly will oversee Veritex Bank’s corporate governance and manage all regulatory matters.
Donnelly brings more than 32 years of leadership expertise in the financial services industry. As General Counsel, he has worked in both domestic and international organizations and for public and private institutions. His resume includes leadership positions at Starbuck Bancshares, Inc., AmericanWest Bank, Mutual of Omaha Bank, and FINOVA Capital Corporation. He is skilled in M&A, corporate governance, commercial finance, complex litigation management, contracts, human resources, compliance and risk management.
As a member of the bank’s executive leadership team, Donnelly will work hand-in-hand with senior management in developing and implementing bank-wide strategic business initiatives and in the creation of new procedures and protocols designed to strengthen the bank’s contracts, compliance, and risk management position. As Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel, he will be primary counsel to various departments within the bank including accounting, human resources, and risk management, regarding investor correspondence, employee matters, corporate insurance and regulatory applications.
He recently served as General Counsel and Director of HR to a publicly traded Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National subsidiary. He was responsible for the acquisition of nine banks in the western U.S., creating a $10 billion financial institution. He successfully has managed and integrated diverse teams of professionals including, in-house and outside counsel, human resources, marketing personnel and other professionals.
“Phil Donnelly’s reputation more than precedes him; he is a model for excellence in the banking industry,” said CEO of Veritex Bank, C. Malcolm Holland. “He knows first-hand what it took to build Veritex to where it is today, and he understands how to help take Veritex to where it needs to be. Adding his skill set in compliance, regulatory, M&A, and corporate governance will only make the extraordinary team that we have in place, better.
“I am very excited to join the team at Veritex Bank,” said Donnelly. “The banking possibilities beyond $10 Billion are exciting, and the regulatory demands on the bank will increase as well. I look forward to ensuring the bank stays the steady course that has been set for it over the past eleven years.”
Donnelly has spent most of his professional career in Arizona. He earned his undergraduate degree in 1984 and his J.D. from St. John’s University in Queens, New York in 1987.