Board of Directors

Larry J. Helling was named Chief Executive Officer of QCR Holdings in May of 2019 in addition to his duties as Chief Executive Officer of Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust (CRBT). Prior to leading the creation of CRBT in 2001, he spent 18 years in executive positions with Firstar Bank in Cedar Rapids, IA and Omaha National Bank in Omaha, NE. Mr. Helling is a graduate of the Cedar Rapids’ Leadership for Five Seasons program and currently serves on the board of directors and trustees of the United Way of East Central Iowa and the board of trustees of Junior Achievement. He is past President and a member of the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids, on the board of the Entrepreneurial Development Center, and is on the board of Brucemore National Trust Historic Site. He also serves as a Director of Quad City Bank & Trust, Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust, and m2 Lease Funds. We consider Mr. Helling to be a qualified candidate for service on the board and the committees he is a member of due to his experience as the President of Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust, his past experience as an executive officer of Firstar Bank, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, one of our market areas, and his prior banking experience.

Marie Z. Ziegler is a retired Vice President and Deputy Financial Officer of Deere & Company. In this role, she had responsibility for Deere’s global treasury, pensions and investments, and investor relations. Prior to this, Ms. Ziegler was Deere’s Vice President and Treasurer. She joined Deere & Company in 1978 as a consolidation accountant and held management positions in finance, treasury operations, strategic planning and investor and banking relations. Ms. Ziegler is a 1978 graduate of St. Ambrose University, with a bachelor of arts in accounting. She received her Certified Public Accountant designation in 1979 and an MBA from the University of Iowa in 1985. Ms. Ziegler is on the board of trustees for the Two Rivers YMCA (Moline, Illinois) and the board of UnityPoint Health-Trinity. Ms. Ziegler is a past member of the University of Iowa College of Business’ Tippie Advisory Board, Unified Growth Strategy Committee of the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce, Girl Scouts of the Mississippi Valley, Inc., Trinity Regional Health System, Trinity Medical Center and Community Foundation of the Great River Bend. She also served on the Deere & Company Credit Union board, and as a member of the board of the United Way of the Quad Cities, chairing its 2003 Quad Cities United Way Campaign. She also is past treasurer of fundraising for Playcrafters Barn Theatre, Moline. Ms. Ziegler is also involved with a number of charitable organizations headquartered in communities served by QCR Holdings, providing her with business connections and extensive knowledge of our market areas. We consider Ms. Ziegler to be a qualified candidate for service on the board and the committees she is a member of due primarily to the knowledge and experience regarding public companies she gained in her role as Vice President and Treasurer of Deere & Company.

James M. Field is Senior Advisor, Office of the Chairman. In this capacity, he provides counsel to the Chairman and other leaders on various financial, operating and strategic matters. He has previously served Deere as President of the Agricultural Division, the Worldwide Construction & Forestry and Power Systems Division and as the Chief Financial Officer of Deere as well as a number of other positions in Operations, Finance and Business Development since joining Deere in 1994. Prior to John Deere, Mr. Field served under a number of assignments at Deloitte. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University, holds his CPA, and has completed his Executive Education at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Mr. Field is also a member of the Executive Committee for the John Deere Classic, serves on the Board of Directors for Hand in Hand, a Quad Cities non-profit organization that provides services to children and youth, and is a member of the Board of Trustees for St. Ambrose University.

Mary Kay Bates is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank Midwest based in Spirit Lake, IA. She has over 30 years in the financial services industry and has been with Bank Midwest since 1995. She was appointed president in 2016 and chief executive officer in 2017. From 2014 to 2016, she held the role of executive vice president and chief operating officer. In her tenure at the bank, she has served in multiple areas including lending, marketing and human resources. Ms. Bates attended Iowa State University and graduated with honors from the Graduate School of Banking Colorado. Ms. Bates currently serves on the board of directors of Bank Midwest and Goodenow Bancorporation. She is a Trustee of the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado and an active member of the Iowa Bankers Association, serving on the legislative committee and as a Regional Vice-Chair. She is a Trustee of Lakes Regional Healthcare and a board director of Lakes Regional Healthcare Foundation. Ms. Bates is also recognized as an active community leader and volunteer, having served as director and officer on multiple boards to enrich quality of life and economic development within her community.

John-Paul E. Besong is a former Senior Vice President of e-Business and Chief Information Officer for Rockwell Collins, a Fortune 500 company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that provides aviation electronics for both commercial and military aircraft. He was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer in 2003. Beginning in 1979, when he joined Rockwell Collins as a chemical engineer, Mr. Besong held management roles having increasingly more responsibility within the company including, vice president of e-Business and Lean ElectronicsSM, head of the SAP initiative and Director of the Printed Circuits and Fabrication businesses. Mr. Besong serves on the boards of directors of United Fire Group, Junior Achievement (Cedar Rapids area), Mercy Medical Center, Iowa Public Television Foundation and Technology Association of Iowa (TAI) CIO Advisory Board, and is a former director of Lean Aerospace Initiative (LAI). He also serves as a member and former chair of the executive board of TAI. We consider Mr. Besong to be a qualified candidate for service on the board and the committees he will be placed on due to his business acumen and distinguished management career as an officer and information technology expert of a Fortune 500 company.

Brent R. Cobb is Chief Executive Officer of World Class Industries, a Hiawatha-based supply chain and value-added manufacturing services company, serving original equipment manufacturers through assembly and supplier consolidation programs. Mr. Cobb joined World Class Industries in May 2002 as Vice President, subsequently being named President in 2005 and Chief Executive Officer in 2019. Concurrently, Cobb is Chairman of Morton Industries, a global leader in tube fabrication for global equipment manufacturers. Active in the community, he is a past chair of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation and the founding board chair of the Hiawatha Economic Development Corporation. Additionally, Cobb is involved in YPO Iowa and is a former Chapter Chair. Currently he sits on John Deere’s Direct Material Supplier Council. Mr. Cobb is a graduate of St. John’s University, Minnesota and the Henry B. Tippie School of Management at the University of Iowa. He has been a director of Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust since 2017. We consider Mr. Cobb to be a qualified candidate for service on the board due to his experience as the CEO of a successful supply chain and value-added manufacturing services company in Hiawatha, Iowa, prior service on a bank board and his knowledge of the business community in the Cedar Rapids market area.

Todd A. Gipple is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and began his career with KPMG Peat Marwick in 1985. In 1991, McGladrey & Pullen acquired the Quad Cities practice of KPMG. Mr. Gipple was named Tax Partner with McGladrey & Pullen in 1994 and served as the Tax Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Mississippi Valley Practice and as one of five Regional Tax Coordinators for the national firm. He specialized in Financial Institutions Taxation and Mergers and Acquisitions throughout his 14-year career in Public Accounting. He joined QCR Holdings in January of 2000, and currently serves as President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. He also serves as a Director of Quad City Bank & Trust, and Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust. Mr. Gipple previously served on the board of directors and the Executive Committee of the Davenport Chamber of Commerce, United Way of the Quad Cities and the Scott County Beautification Foundation, and was a member of the original Governing Body for the Quad City’s “Success by 6” Initiative. Mr. Gipple was the 2016 Chief Corporate Chair for the Quad Cities JDRF One Walk and also currently serves on the Audit Committee for the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, the board of directors of SAL Family and Community Services, the board of directors of the Scott County family YMCA, and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs. 

John F. Griesemer has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Erlen Group since 2018 and a member of the Board of Directors of the Erlen Group since 1993. The Erlen Group is a privately- held family of industrial companies, including Springfield Underground, Cold Zone, Westside Stone, and Joplin Stone. Mr. Griesemer holds a B.S. degree in Industrial Management and Engineering from Purdue University. He is current President of the Springfield Catholic Schools Board and a member of the Board of the National Stone Sand and Gravel Association. He is past Chairman of the Board Mercy Springfield Communities and Mercy Hospital Springfield. He is a past Member of the Board of the Missouri Limestone Producers Association, Catholic Campus Ministries, Junior Achievement of the Ozarks and Ozark Technical Community College Foundation.

Elizabeth “Libby” Jacobs is President of The Jacobs Group, LLC, a Des Moines-based consulting firm specializing in the energy and regulated utilities industries, focused on business development, strategic communications, and public and regulatory policy. Ms. Jacobs formerly served on the Iowa Utilities Board, including four years as Chair. Previously she had a 20-year career with the Principal Financial Group serving as Community Relations Director for the last 14 years of her career. In addition, Ms. Jacobs served seven terms in the Iowa House of Representatives, and was elected by her peers to serve seven years as Majority Whip. She has received numerous awards and honors, including the 2008 West Des Moines Citizen of the Year, 2008 Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute Business Leadership Award, and selection as a 2001 Des Moines Business Record Woman of Influence. Currently Ms. Jacobs is Chair of the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation Board of Directors and also serves on the Board of Directors of Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa and Taxpayers Association of Central Iowa. She has served in leadership positions on nonprofit boards in the Des Moines area as well as regionally and nationally. Ms. Jacobs earned her Bachelor of Arts, with distinction, in political science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and her Master of Public Administration from Drake University. We consider Ms. Jacobs to be a qualified candidate for service on the board due to her community involvement, which includes leadership roles on numerous nonprofit boards with focus on strategic planning and sustainability.

Mark C. Kilmer is President of The Republic Companies, a family-owned group of businesses founded in 1916 and headquartered in Davenport, Iowa involved in the wholesale equipment and supplies distribution of energy management, electrical, refrigeration, heating, air-conditioning and sign support systems. Prior to joining Republic in 1984, Mr. Kilmer worked in the Management Information Systems Department of Standard Oil of California (Chevron) in San Francisco. Mr. Kilmer currently is a board member of The Genesis Health System, serves on the Board of Trustees of St. Ambrose University, and also serves on the board of directors of IMARK Group, Inc., a national member-owned purchasing cooperative of electric supplies and equipment distributors. He is a two-term past chairman of the PGA TOUR John Deere Classic and the past chairman of the Scott County YMCA’s board of directors. Mr. Kilmer is the past chairman of the board of Genesis Medical Center, and has served on the board of directors of The Genesis Heart Institute, St. Luke’s Hospital, Rejuvenate Davenport, The Vera French Foundation and Trinity Lutheran Church. He was a four-time project business consultant for Junior Achievement. Prior to joining the board of Quad City Bank and Trust in 1996, Mr. Kilmer served on the board of Citizen’s Federal Savings Bank in Davenport, Iowa. He currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Quad City Bank and Trust, and is a member of its Loan Committee. In 2014, Mr. Kilmer was named the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser by Quad City Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and along with his wife, Kathy, received the Bethany Homes Leadership Family of the Year Award. We consider Mr. Kilmer to be a qualified candidate for service on the board and the committees he is a member of due to his experience as the President of a successful wholesale and supply distribution business in Davenport, Iowa, one of our market areas, prior service on a bank board and his knowledge of the business community in this area.

Donna J. Sorensen is President of Sorensen Consulting, a management consulting and executive coaching firm. Ms. Sorensen earned her undergraduate degree from Marycrest College and her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Iowa College of Law. She has twenty years of prior experience in trust and investment management serving as Executive Vice President Institutional Trust for U.S. Bank (formerly Firstar Bank). Ms. Sorensen has served on numerous nonprofit boards over the years and is currently a board member of the University of Iowa Obermann Center for Advanced Research, Kirkwood Community College Foundation Investment Committee and the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation Agency Investment Advisory Council, and is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association. She has been a director of Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust since 2002. She formerly served as Chair of its board, and currently serves as Chair of the Wealth Management Committee. We consider Ms. Sorensen to be a qualified candidate for service on the board and the committees she is a member of due to her experience as the President of a consulting firm in Iowa City, Iowa, her prior banking experience and her education and training as an attorney.