Aleesha Webb is new president of Village Bank, Blaine

Aleesha Webb has "come home" as the new president of Village Bank, the Blaine-based community bank her father founded and where she began her banking career.

Webb, who started out as a Village Bank teller, returns with 14 years of industry experience. Her father, Don Kveton, chartered the bank in 1993 and continues as board chairman.

Between her first job at Village Bank and her return, Webb worked as a senior vice president at Sunrise Banks and a vice president at Minnesota Bank & Trust.

"I wanted to figure out if I could do it myself and do it without Don," Webb said of working in banking. "I went from being a community banker to being a commercial banker.

"I got trained in what it means to manage the entire client relationship. … I got to build teams and see what social media strategies could help lift community banking."

Starting a family, Webb said, renewed her interest in community banking and making a difference locally.

Plans call for adding 15 new hires in 2019 to the bank's 70-plus employees, Webb said. Village Bank, with locations in Ramsey, East Bethel, St. Francis and Blaine, may look to expand beyond its Anoka County base.

Village Bank has more than $293 million in assets, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Q: Are any changes in store for Village Bank?

A: Don and I talked a lot about, "It's time to shake things up in community banking. It's time to get back to local business owners and back to the economic sustainability of the county, the state, the town in which we're doing business." There's a lot of opportunity out there.

Q: What's driving the hiring at the bank?

A: The commitment to community. Don has been a leader of this bank for almost 26 years. When Don and I made the decision for me to come home to Village Bank we looked at our values and [how they] aligned with earning what we have. We made the commitment to Village Bank, to have capital behind Village Bank and to help our community businesses earn what they have.

A: My favorite thing about banking is the people. There is nothing like watching someone's grandson getting his first savings account. There's nothing like watching a female client buy the businesses she's been the president of for seven years. There are all these life moments. Today banking is so commercialized. For me it's very, very personal.