In what may be its most visible gain so far from the merger of two big rivals, Washington Mutual Inc. has hired a former West One Bancorp executive to play a key management role in its new commercial banking unit.
Sally Jewell, who was president of West One's Washington bank subsidiary, became executive vice president of commercial banking for Seattle-based Washington Mutual in late January. The month before, West One had merged with U.S. Bancorp.
She reports to business development chief Craig E. Tall, a member of the thrift's executive committee.
While at West One, Ms. Jewell, 40, gained a reputation as one of the brightest young stars of Washington banking. The daughter of a doctor, she was born in London and raised in the Seattle area. She first worked as a petroleum engineer, then as an energy lending specialist for Rainier National Bank.
She became business banking chief in Washington after Security Pacific Corp. acquired Rainier. But when BankAmerica Corp. acquired Security Pacific in April 1992, she decided she had to leave.
She took a senior post at West One, became president of the Washington bank in nine months, and grew the unit from assets of $1.7 billion to $2.2 billion.
West One's merger with U.S. Bancorp again left her out in the cold. The top job in the state went to Phyllis J. Campbell, 45, who had been head of U.S. Bancorp's much larger Washington subsidiary.
In the past year, Washington Mutual has targeted commercial bank acquisitions to boost profits. Ms. Jewell will play a big part in making the plan work, the bank said. She is supposed to team with the heads of acquired banks to develop credit policies, streamline operating procedures, and create compensation schemes designed to attract loan officers from other banks.
Ms. Jewell brought along her chief credit officer from West One, Joseph W. Niemer. Her arrival also coincided with Washington Mutual's hiring of three loan officers from West One.
