As a Director of International Banking at FNBO, Karen leads a team dedicated to helping customers expand their networks and navigate the intricacies of international trade. Acting as a trusted partner to business entities, she manages trade operations, while also coaching trade advisors to improve service levels and tailor solutions that optimize process efficiencies. With a keen understanding of global markets and the intricacies of trade finance, Karen is adept at guiding clients through the complex world of trade finance and opening doors to new markets.

Credentials

Karen’s professional career spans a wide range of critical banking functions, including roles in international trade services, consumer banking, financial sales and operational management. In 2008, she joined FNBO as a Senior Manager of Global Trade Services, where she first began coaching trade advisors, advising bank staff on trade services products and managing trade operations. In 2017, she became a Director of Financial Crimes Business Development and Program Management at FNBO. In this role, she assisted in the creation of business strategies meant to identify and deter fraud, while helping businesses remain compliant with industry regulations. In 2019, she moved to her current role, managing trade services and advising internal staff on best practice approaches.

Karen earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from University of Nebraska at Lincoln and a Master of Arts in International Affairs from Florida State University. She is on the Board of Directors for the Midwest International Trade Association, the Advisory Board for the University of Nebraska at Omaha Logistics and Supply Chain Management and is a member of the BAFT Central Regional Sub-Committee on Letters of Credit.

Passions

Despite her full slate of professional involvements, Karen always makes time for family life. She enjoys traveling with her husband and daughters as well as visiting with extended family and friends. Not to be left off the list is Daphne, the family’s German Shorthaired Pointer.