Laurie Stewart

Laura Lee (Laurie) Stewart is the president and CEO of Seattle-based Sound Community Bank, where she has celebrated more than 30 years at the helm. In that time, she led the conversion of the organization from a $38 million credit union to a commercial bank that grew to be more than $718 million in assets. She maintains a long history in community banking and participation in industry affairs. Stewart currently serves as the chair of the American Bankers Association, representing the nation’s $18.6 trillion banking industry and the employment of more than two million workers. She is also holds a position on the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Seattle Branch. Previously, Stewart served as chair of the board of directors of the Washington Bankers Association (WBA), where she helped create the WBA’s Executive Development Program. In addition, she was one of 14 bankers selected to serve on the inaugural Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s Advisory Board in 2009, and in 2012, she was named to the Community Bank Advisory Council of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  In 2019, she was named Community Banker of the Year by American Banker and received an Executive Excellence award from Seattle Business Magazine. American Banker also named her as one of its Most Powerful Women in Banking in 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Stewart serves as chair of the board of directors for the National Arthritis Foundation and she is a member of the board of directors of various local, community and charitable organizations such as the Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, Washington.