Anchorage, Alaska – First National Bank Alaska Board Chair and CEO/President Betsy Lawer announced that Senior Executive Officer Cheri Gillian was appointed to the bank’s Board of Directors, effective May 29, 2025.
With more than 35 years of dedicated service at First National, Gillian has played an instrumental role in shaping the bank’s brand and cultivating its award-winning workplace culture. Under her leadership, First National was recognized by Alaska Business magazine readers as the Best Place to Work in Alaska for nine consecutive years, a testament to her commitment to employee engagement and organizational excellence.
Throughout her career, Gillian held multiple leadership roles, driving key initiatives that strengthened First National’s operations and customer relationships. She was pivotal in formalizing the bank’s relationship management program, providing administrative oversight for bank-wide projects, and enhancing the Wealth Management and Trust Department. On June 6, Gillian retired from her roles as Senior Executive Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Board Secretary.
Gillian is a member of the Anchorage ATHENA Society and served on its Communications Committee. She also played a role in United Way of Anchorage’s 90% Graduation by 2020 initiative, and served on the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southcentral Alaska Board of Directors for more than 15 years, including a term as board chair.
“Cheri’s deep understanding of our bank’s values, her strategic vision and her unwavering dedication to Alaska make her an invaluable addition to our Board,” Lawer said. “Her leadership has left a lasting impact on First National, and we look forward to her continued contributions in this new role.”
Alaska’s community bank since 1922, First National Bank Alaska proudly meets the financial needs of Alaskans with 28 locations and 29 ATMs in 19 communities throughout the state, and by providing banking services to meet their needs across the nation and around the world.
In 2025, Forbes selected First National as the sixth best bank on their America’s Best Banks list, and Newsweek recognized the bank as one of the nation’s Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions. In 2024, Alaska Business readers voted First National “Best of Alaska Business” in the Best Place to Work category for the ninth year in a row, Best Bank/Credit Union for the fourth time, and Best Customer Service. The bank was also voted “Best of Alaska” in 2024 in the Anchorage Daily News awards, ranking as one of the top three in the Bank/Financial category for the sixth year in a row. American Banker again recognized First National as a “Best Bank to Work For” in 2024, for the seventh consecutive year.
For more than a century, the bank has been committed to supporting the communities it serves. In 2024, for the eighth consecutive reporting period, over a span of twenty-four years, First National received an Outstanding Community Reinvestment Act performance rating from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. First National Bank Alaska is a Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender, and recognized as a Minority Depository Institution by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as it is majority-owned by women.