In a move designed to strengthen its position as a leader in talent acquisition and diversity, equity and inclusion, Bremer Bank has announced the promotion of Colette Campbell to the position of chief people and culture officer.
“This promotion continues to elevate Bremer’s work of DEI in larger ways,” Campbell said. “We want this work to be integrated into the work of who we are because it is part of our mission of cultivating thriving communities.”
This is not Campbell’s first promotion with the St Paul-based bank. She joined Bremer seven years ago as director of talent acquisition and diversity, then advanced to the role of chief talent acquisition and diversity officer.
In this expanded C-suite role, Campbell will oversee human resources teams in addition to the DEI and talent acquisition teams she has been leading since joining the bank in 2017.
“Bremer has been the beneficiary of Colette’s tremendous leadership,” said Jeanne Crain, president and CEO of Bremer Bank. Colette has demonstrated a consistent track record of advancing individual and team-focused opportunities, strengthening both our organization and the communities we serve.”
Campbell’s leadership efforts have focused on building external partnerships, recruiting, retaining, and promoting a diverse workforce, and establishing a supplier diversity program.
She helped build Bremer’s teams to fulfill the bank’s promises to invest in diverse, historically underserved communities.
That included the opening of a new Bremer branch in the Hi-Lake shopping center near Hiawatha Ave. in Minneapolis, a neighborhood disrupted by the unrest after George Floyd’s murder, and the major expansion of the bank’s St Paul-Midway branch. Campbell and her team also created Bremer’s first diversity council. “We are taking steps that are somewhat bold and different and learning from that, but we operate with the small town bank feel,” she said.
Campbell plans to continue her high profile in the community. She said that she is particularly eager to make appearances representing Bremer Bank that can recruit and motivate people of color to consider pivoting to business careers.
“Banking is about relationship management, learning to listen to people, having empathy and helping them see goals and achieve them,” she said.
Campbell is particularly excited about connecting with youth. She pointed to her recent visit to a Roseville middle school where she met with low-income students of color participating in a program to prepare and propel promising youth who will be the first in their families to attend college.
“Growing up in this body, not necessarily having teachers who look like me, there were not a lot of times when people expanded where I thought I could go,” she said. “Part of my celebration is to encourage and inspire others.”