The Graduate School of Banking at Colorado (GSBC), America’s premier community banking school, has named Michael Stevens its president-elect effective May 1, 2021.

Dr. Timothy Koch will continue as GSBC’s current president through the close of the 70^th Annual School Session in July and will work in tandem with Stevens until his retirement. Koch has led GSBC since 2001.

Stevens is a 32-year veteran of the banking industry, serving the Washington, D.C.-based Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) since November 1999. He currently serves as senior executive vice president at CSBS and is responsible for leading the organization’s government relations, communications and professional-development functions. Prior to joining CSBS, Stevens served as an examiner for the Iowa Division of Banking. He is a frequent instructor and speaker on the national stage on topics relating to banking policy, examinations and financial analysis, and has served as a GSBC faculty member since 2004.

“I am honored to be entrusted by the GSBC Board of Trustees to lead this school and continue its tradition of developing community bank leaders,” said Stevens. “I am grateful for Tim Koch’s vision and stewardship that has served this industry well.”

In July, the GSBC Board of Trustees formed a six-person search committee responsible for finding Koch’s replacement. Its primary goal was to find a candidate by year-end 2020 to allow for a gradual transition of leadership beginning in 2021. Koch retired from his career as professor of finance at the University of South Carolina in 2018 and plans to enjoy his full retirement in Charleston, S.C. with his wife Susan.

“GSBC will be in good hands with Mike at the helm,” Koch said. “Community banks will no doubt face significant challenges in the years to come; our board [of trustees] has identified an excellent leader to guide our constituency through these obstacles and help the industry to thrive well into the future.”

An Iowa native, Stevens earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a specialization in finance from the University of Nebraska at Omaha where he studied from 1985-1988. Stevens currently resides in Ashburn, Va., with his wife Becki with whom he shares two grown children.