Mr. Kotche is a former partner at the law firm Levato & Kotche, a position he held from 1984 until his retirement in 2023. Before our acquisition of West Suburban Bancorp, Inc. (formerly, NASDAQ: WNRP), he served as a director of West Suburban Bancorp, Inc. and West Suburban Bank since 2010. He previously served on the board of STC Bancshares Corp. and STC Capital Bank from 2007 until they were sold to Wintrust in 2019. He also served on the board of Advantage National Bank (both Bank and Holding Company) from 2001 until they were sold to Wintrust in 2003. We consider Mr. Kotche to be a qualified candidate for service on the board, the Compensation Committee, the Loan Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and as Vice Chair of the Risk and Insurance Committee due to his experience in law and business, 26 years of bank board experience, and his extensive knowledge of the market areas we serve, including the markets we entered through our acquisition of West Suburban.