Charles LeCocq
Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer

Charles represents the third generation of LeCocq leadership at Peoples Bank. Charles was elected President and CEO of the Bank in 1987, carrying on the family tradition and supporting the core values of honesty, integrity, respect, and fiscal conservatism set by his grandfather in 1938.

In 2013, Charles became Chairman of the Board and continues to serve as CEO. It is under Charles' leadership that the Bank entered the mortgage business, formed Peoples Investments, and grew Bank assets to over $1.9 billion.

Charles and the LeCocq family are passionate about making the community a better place for everyone. The Bank’s unwavering commitment to employees, customers, and local communities is what makes Peoples Bank a true community bank and distinguishes us from other banks in the area.

Lisa Hefter
Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative & Risk Officer

Lisa joined Peoples Bank in 1992 and was named Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative & Risk Officer in early 2020 after serving as the Bank's Chief Financial Officer for over ten years. In her current role, Lisa is responsible for directing the administrative and operational activities of the Bank and also oversees enterprise risk management.

Lisa supports the Bank's community relations activities and serves as the Chairperson of the Donations Committee. Lisa is passionate about the business of banking and seeks continual improvement for the Bank's customers, employees, and shareholders.

An honors graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School, she has a Bachelor's in business administration with a finance emphasis from Central Washington University, where she finished magna cum laude. In 2017, Lisa was named CFO of the Year by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Peter Cutbill
Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Officer

Peter joined Peoples Bank in 2018 as Chief Credit Officer, bringing over 30 years of community banking experience in Whatcom County and extensive knowledge of commercial lending, credit administration, and special credits. In this role, Peter is responsible for all aspects of portfolio underwriting and loan portfolio risk management.

Peter is deeply involved in the community having served as co-chair of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce, president of Junior Achievement of Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties, and president of the Downtown Bellingham Partnership.

Peter was an adjunct faculty member of Whatcom Community College and holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Toronto, and Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Buffalo.

 

Christopher Neros
Executive Vice President & Chief Lending Officer

Christopher joined Peoples Bank in 2006 with more than ten years of commercial banking experience. Throughout his career at Peoples Bank, Christopher served in several roles, including Commercial Loan Officer, Commercial Team Leader, Commercial Production Manager, and currently as Chief Lending Officer overseeing bank-wide lending strategy. 

Christopher is responsible for all commercial, real estate, consumer, and marine lending activities, including production and relationship management. He appreciates that his position allows him to have a positive impact on Peoples Bank employees, customers, and the local communities.

A graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School, Christopher holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage and an MBA, graduating with Master’s Honors, from Regis University in Colorado.
 

Randy Fredlund
Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance & Security Officer

A 17-year veteran of Peoples Bank with over 25 years of banking experience, Randy chairs the Bank’s Operational Risk Committee and is responsible for vendor management, compliance, and security.

Raised in Bellingham, Randy is certified in regulatory compliance and anti-money laundering and has deep expertise in physical and cybersecurity, disaster recovery, and vendor and fraud management. He is passionate about helping customers avoid the ever-present dangers online and is locally focused in the communities we serve.

Randy is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School and holds a leadership and management certification from the Leadership Institute of Seattle through Western Washington University.

Derek Thornton
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Derek joined Peoples Bank in 2013 and has since held roles in retail, small business, and credit, although finance and accounting have been his area of expertise. With over fifteen years of banking experience, and now serving as Chief Financial Officer of the Bank, Derek most enjoys supporting the growth and success of his customers, and especially that of his employees.

Derek greatly values the health and wellness of his community and serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors at Lydia Place and is also on the Board of Directors and the men’s Team Lead of the Bellingham Distance Project, competitive running team. Derek was also awarded the Chairman’s Award for leadership in 2016, citing his personal commitment to integrity, honesty and respect as the things he values most about the culture at Peoples Bank.

Derek is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School and holds bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Political Science and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Western Washington University.