2020 MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. Annual Report

“My role is to be someone willing to take lessons learned to think about how we future proof this organization. How do we position ourselves for continued strength?”

Leaning in to Len

— LEN DEVAISHER, PRESIDENT AND COO

T he right opportunity can come along when you least expect it. For Len Devaisher, that op- portunity arrived in the midst of a pandemic. Devaisher joined MidWest One Bank in July 2020 as President and COO. The new position is a natural next step in Devaisher’s career—a career highlighted by years of deep and varied leadership experience in banking as well as a couple of intriguing detours that add depth and texture to his résumé. “I started out working at a bank that at the time I started was not too dissimilar from where Mid- West One is today,” Devaisher says. That bank, Old National Bank, was so pleased with his work that they made him a promise when he and his family moved to Tanzania for three years for a position with Young Life. “The bank graciously told me, ‘Give us a call when you’re coming back, and we’ll have something for you.’ And I did—and they did.” In May 2016, Old National Bank relocated Devaish- er from the bank’s headquarters in Evansville, Indiana, to Madison, Wisconsin, where he became CEO for the region. In 2019, he made another move, this time to be- come the Vice President of Resource Development for the United Way of Dane County, Wisconsin. And then the MidWest One opportunity arose. “The more I looked into it, the more intriguing it became,” Devaisher says. “First, I was attracted to this company’s scale and culture. The scale presents meaningful opportunities to grow with our customers. The culture is the heart of community banking: caring commitment. Second, the opportunity to learn from Charlie Funk was very compelling. Charlie’s 20-year tenure demonstrates that a company can grow and evolve while still remaining true to its roots. Lessons from that journey are crucial for MidWest One ’s future.” If Devaisher is impressed by Funk, it is more than fair to say the feeling is mutual. “Len was a great hire,” says Funk. “He brings to our company very sound knowledge of our industry.

He’s an outstanding communicator. He’s not a good communicator. He’s an outstanding communicator. He connects well with people. He has an incredible work ethic and a tremendous capacity for the amount of work he can produce. When you combine work ethic with capacity, he hits it out of the park.” As intrigued as Devaisher was with the bank and its culture, the search committee was equally in- trigued with him. “Len was the clear choice for a whole host of rea- sons,” says board member Tracy McCormick. “He just brought so much to the table in terms of his leader- ship skill sets and banking background. But I think what the committee really liked about Len was his commitment to and belief in and support of a company’s culture. In his work with us, he really liked what he saw. And we saw in him someone who embraced our culture and brought similar values and work ethic to the table. There are many qualified candidates out there with great skills and so on, but there are not very many who can combine that with a real cultural fit. And we felt like we found that in Len.” Board chairman Kevin Monson agrees. “After an extensive national search, the bank was successful in hiring Len Devaisher as our new President and Chief Operating Officer. His extensive banking experience and clear cultural fit is evident as he energetically and effectively leads the bank. The Directors have great confidence in Len and the leader- ship he provides as we look to the future.” Asked what changes he anticipates may be coming to MidWest One under his leadership, Devaisher is quick to shift the focus to what he believes shouldn’t change. “I’m committed to continuing to nurture, to cul- tivate, to steward the legacy of the bank as it stands today. We have to understand the bedrock that we stand on: our mission and our operating principles. So that’s number one.” That’s not to say he isn’t aware of the ways in which the current moment demands change.

“I would say that the reality is that we’re a great company and a strong bank that’s operating in a changing industry—and one for which the change is accelerating. And so our company does, in fact, need to change. The mission doesn’t need to change. The values don’t need to change. But how we go about ex- ecuting what we do needs to continue to evolve. If the pace of change inside our organization isn’t matching what’s going on outside in the environment, in the market, then we’re in trouble.” Devaisher firmly believes these two ideas—hon- oring core values and embracing necessary change— can and should coexist in the bank’s operation. “My role is to be someone who understands and appreciates and values our history, our mission, our cul- ture, our operating principles and to be someone willing to take lessons learned—both internally and externally— to think about howwe future proof this organization. How do we position ourselves for continued strength?” For Devaisher, strength comes from a steadfast commitment to doing everything possible to serve the bank’s customers. “That means helping customers with the prod- ucts and services they want, with sound advice, by helping them avoid costly mistakes, and by helping them achieve their goals. If we continue to do that then we earn the right to be their bank. We know they have many choices, so I think a lot and talk a lot about earning the right to be their bank. We can never take our customers for granted.” McCormick could not be more comfortable with this approach to the future of MidWest One . “Len really believes in being involved in our com- munities, and helping people in our communities— even people who are not our customers. He seems to have all the things he needs to help us be successful and for him to be successful here.” Funk sums up that same idea evenmore succinctly: “Len Devaisher has significant upside. I’m very happy he’s here.”

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