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The American Association of Bank Directors (AABD) today announced the appointment of Joe O’Donnell as its Enterprise Risk Management Issues Advisor.  Mr. O’Donnell has had a long and distinguished professional banking career in enterprise risk management and many other functional areas including compliance, internal audit, information security and lending.

“Joe brings to AABD a wealth of practical experience and expertise as a major player in Enterprise Risk Management,” David Baris, President of AABD, said.

“Enterprise Risk Management is an essential piece of a successful bank”, said Rich Whiting, AABD’s Executive Director.  “Joe will share his insights in periodic articles on the role of the bank board of directors in Enterprise Risk Management.”

Mr. O’Donnell will also serve as a Co-Chair of AABD’s new Risk-Reward Committee, designed to assist bank directors to better understand their role in Enterprise Risk Management.  “The name of the Committee connotes the inextricable connection between risk and reward,” Baris said.  “Too often, bank boards are evaluating risk in a vacuum.  That needs to change.”

Mr. O’Donnell currently serves as Director of Enterprise Risk Management at Fannie Mae.

He previously served in various senior management positions at both community banks and large financial services organizations including MBNA America, Bank of America and American Express.  He has helped to reposition ERM from a reactive, compliance based focus to a forward-looking, value added function that supports achievement of strategic objectives.

Founded in 1989, the non-profit American Association of Bank Directors is the only trade group in the United States solely devoted to bank directors and their information, education, and advocacy needs.  The Institute for Bank Director Education was established in 1993 as the educational arm of AABD.  Its purpose is to act as a clearinghouse for education programs designed for bank and savings institution directors that support the nationally recognized AABD Director Certification Program.  AABD has published, among other publications, the “The Bank Director Regulatory Burden Report”, the first public compilation of over 800 laws, regulations and federal banking agency guidance that impose various requirements on bank directors and their boards and board committees, and “FDIC Director Suits: Lessons Learned”.