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 $1.6 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 Financial Officer

Lisa joined Peoples Bank in 1992 and became the Bank's Controller in 1999. In her current role as Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Lisa is responsible for directing the financial activities of the Bank. Lisa also serves as the Chief Risk Officer, managing compliance risk, operational risk, and cyber risk. 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. In 2017, Lisa was named CFO of the Year for small private companies by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Michelle Barrett
Executive Vice President
Chief Retail Banking & Marketing Officer

Michelle joined Peoples Bank in 2011 as the Director of Human Resources. In 2016, her management duties expanded to include oversight of retail banking. In her current role, Michelle is responsible for leading the strategic direction and administration of the retail division, as well as the planning, development, and execution of the Bank’s marketing initiatives.

Michelle is passionate about making a difference in her community. She currently serves on the board of the Pacific Coast Banking School and on the Compensation Committee for Milliman, and previously served on the HR Committee for the Whatcom Business Alliance.
 

Christopher Neros
Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Banking Officer

Christopher joined Peoples Bank in 2006 with more than 10 years of commercial banking experience. Throughout his career at Peoples Bank, Christopher served in several roles, including Commercial Loan Officer, Commercial Team Leader, and most recently, as Commercial Banking Production Manager.

In his current role as Chief Commercial Banking Officer, Christopher is responsible for all commercial banking 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.
 

Peter Cutbill
Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Officer

Peter joined Peoples Bank in February 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.