Citizens Bank of West Virginia’s Board of Directors announces Nathaniel S. Bonnell, who has served as the bank’s Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer since 2011, has recently been appointed President & CEO. Bonnell will also serve as President & CEO of Citizens Financial Corp. – the bank’s holding company.
“Speaking on behalf of our board of directors, I am pleased to announce that Nathaniel Bonnell has been selected as the 10th President & CEO of Citizens Bank,” said Max Armentrout, chairman of Citizens Financial Corp.’s Board of Directors. “We’re confident that Nathaniel will propel Citizens to an even higher level of community banking. He has been key to building our deposit areas and highly successful in restructuring loan programs and operations. He is an exceptional leader and well respected by banking professionals. His vision and approach to banking and service will make him a tremendous asset as Citizens’ President & CEO.”
Bonnell, a native of Elkins began working part-time in the internal auditing department and as a teller while attending Davis & Elkins College.
In 2003, he was hired full-time as Special Projects Officer and was promoted to Financial Reporting Manager in 2005. He was appointed Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2007 before advancing to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2008. In 2011, he was elevated to Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer and was responsible for the oversight of several bank departments including operations, retail banking, trust services, investment services, marketing, human resources, information technology, and facilities, as well as the finance and accounting functions.
In 2010, he was appointed Vice President and Treasurer of Citizens Financial Corp. and was appointed to serve as a member of the Citizens Bank of West Virginia and the Citizens Financial Corp. Board of Directors in 2014.
“It’s an honor to be entrusted with the bank’s leadership and I am excited for the opportunity the board of directors has extended to me,” commented Bonnell. “Citizens Bank has a longstanding legacy of service to its communities, and I am looking forward to being a part of continuing a tradition of delivering top notch banking with a hometown friendly spirit by a professional team.”
The newly appointed bank President & CEO is a 1999 graduate of Elkins High School. Valedictorian of Davis & Elkins College’s Class of 2003, Bonnell graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Accounting & Management and received a Master of Business Administration from West Virginia University in 2007.
Bonnell is a Certified Information Systems Auditor and Certified Public Accountant – having previously received a merit award in 2003 for earning the highest score on the CPA exam in the state of WV. He was selected as D&E’s 2007 Outstanding Young Alumnus and was elected to D&E College’s National Alumni Council. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and WV Society of CPAs.
President of the board of directors of the Randolph-Tucker Children’s Advocacy Center, he also serves as board secretary of the Randolph County Development Authority. Bonnell was named Business Man of the Year by the Elkins-Randolph County Chamber of Commerce in 2013. He is a 2014 graduate of Leadership West Virginia.
Married to Christina Bonnell, they reside in Montrose with their two children, Braelyn and Kelsea. He is a member of the Mercy Chapel United Methodist Church.
Citizens Bank of West Virginia operates five full-service banking offices in Elkins, Parsons, Beverly, Snowshoe, and Buckhannon. Founded in 1924, Citizens is one of the few community banks in West Virginia that provides comprehensive financial services including consumer, mortgage and commercial lending; deposit and savings products; professional trust services; and specialized investment services. Citizens successfully combines the personality of small town banking with an array of technology products backed by world-class service and include: mobile banking, online banking, business online services, bill pay, mobile deposit, telephone banking, debit cards & ATMs.
