In an industry historically known for a sea of conventional leaders, it's easy to spot the standouts, particularly when their strategy is grounded in contrarian thinking—but with the credibility to back it up.
Such is the case with Zewditu "Tizu" Menelik, executive managing director of corporate, specialty and government banking (CSG), with $53 billion in commitments and $26 billion in earning assets, at $284 billion-asset Huntington National Bank.
Nearly four years into her role leading the CSG group, Menelik took a rather unconventional position in 2025 when she argued the bank should fully re-engage the energy market in its portfolio—six years after its significant retreat in the wake of energy-related credit defaults that began in 2019 and came to a head the following year. (Of the $713 million in nonperforming assets across the bank in 2020,
Yet Menelik saw a door of opportunity for the energy market to become a vital part of her corporate banking portfolio, which now includes nine verticals. First, she had experience in the energy market in a role at Bank of America—prior to the Enron debacle, a learning experience if ever there was one—and she intended to leverage the energy team at Cadence Bank, which Huntington acquired in 2025 in an all-stock deal valued at $7.4 billion.
She convinced the C-suite and the board that CSG was going to do the energy vertical differently this time, designing a lower risk, high-yield diversified expansion that avoided cyclical credit risk in favor of building an infrastructure financing engine. "I went through an exhaustive exercise, reliving what happened in 2019 and why we exited," Menelik said. "I knew what I was talking about, and that credibility really resonated with our ELT, as well as the board."
Known as "rigorous" yet "inclusive" by colleagues—she says she's "in the weeds," a bit too much at times—Menelik's growth plans are ambitious: CSG plans to add one to two verticals annually and double its asset and deposit growth within five years. Beyond energy, an international vertical was added in 2025 to its corporate banking roster to assist the banking needs of U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporates.
"One of Tizu's strengths has been identifying specialized markets where Huntington has an opportunity to grow and bring more tailored solutions to clients," said Scott Kleinman, president of Huntington Commercial Bank, to whom Menelik reports. Those specialized markets now include expanding the bank's capabilities to serve the evolving needs of the sports industry; the development of a specialized business focused on serving community associations and their management partners; and specialized financing capabilities to support clients across the media and entertainment industry. That strategic focus, coupled with the ability to scale quickly, is already bearing fruit: In 2025, the CSG unit delivered year-over-year growth of 42% in average earning assets, 23% in average deposits, 18% in total revenues, and 34% in fees over the prior year. In a CSG first, the business surpassed $20 billion in assets and $20 billion in deposits in October 2025, representing 55% and 40% growth, respectively, since late 2022.
Menelik also led due diligence for the 2025 acquisitions of Cadence Bank and Veritex Bank, an all-stock transaction valued at $1.9 billion. The deals represented roughly $10 billion in assets and $8 billion in deposits.
In the first quarter of 2026, the business reported organic growth of 46% in average earning assets, 22% in average deposits, 32% in total revenues, and 21% in fees as compared to Q1 2025.
She concedes the pace with which CSG's growth has occurred was, at times, difficult. "You've got to get comfortable from a risk perspective. Then making sure that we've got the right talent in-house—or bringing it in—and getting everybody up to the level where they feel comfortable taking that risk," Menelik said. "I don't think we could have scaled any faster—I'll tell you that."
Kleinman's not worried. "She has a strong ability to look beyond the immediate issue and see the broader opportunity or risk. She asks thoughtful questions and brings the right people together to find a path forward," he said. "When challenges arise, she's measured in her approach while keeping the team moving."
When asked what she would do differently going forward, Menelik said working to "lessen internal friction and create better alignment out of the gate" is a priority for continued CSG growth. "It's been a wild journey—and a fun one," she said.
