United in W.Va. taps director to become next bank president

United Bankshares in Charleston, W.Va., didn't have to look far to find its next bank president.

The $19 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that it had hired Michael Fitzgerald, one of its directors, to lead United Bank in Vienna, Va. Fitzgerald succeeded Christopher Bergstrom, who left earlier this month to become CEO of John Marshall Bank.

Fitzgerald, 61, has been a United director since June 2016, when the company bought Bank of Georgetown in Washington. He was Bank of Georgetown's chairman, president and CEO.

“Mike’s vision, strong business acumen and outstanding relationship skills are widely respected within Greater Washington and beyond, and we could not be more pleased that he is stepping into this role,” Rick Adams, United Bankshares' president, said in the release.

United has long been known as one of the most active acquirers in the Washington area. In fact, Bergstrom joined the company after it bought his previous employer, the $4.3 billion-asset Cardinal Financial, in April 2017.

Bergstrom’s former boss, Cardinal Chairman Bernard Clineburg, resigned from United Bankshares' board on Aug. 28.

Fitzgerald has worked in the Washington-area banking market for more than three decades. Prior to joining Bank of Georgetown, which he co-founded in 2005, he was a senior vice president at Sequoia Bank, which United bought in 2003.

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