Chad Schaller is a Sr. Director of ESOP Lending at FNBO, leading and building the bank's Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Lending Practice. Chad serves as FNBO's primary subject-matter expert in ESOP-related credit, capital structuring, and advisory relationships, working with middle market companies throughout the bank's footprint that are transitioning to — or currently operating as — employee-owned businesses. His team is responsible for originating, structuring, and closing both leveraged and non-leveraged ESOP financing, removing the financing constraints that too often stand between business owners and the employee ownership outcomes they want. Chad brings money-center structuring discipline inside a community-bank decision process, giving clients the expertise of institutions like JPMorgan, CIBC, and Wells Fargo — without the rotating coverage teams and remote credit committees.

Credentials

Chad brings nearly two decades of commercial and corporate banking experience to his role at FNBO, with a career spanning institutions including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Associated Bank, and CIBC. His career began in August 2007 — entering commercial credit on the eve of the financial crisis, where he developed his underwriting discipline under real-world conditions involving covenant stress, liquidity pressure, and borrower workouts. That foundation shaped a career concentrated in middle market coverage across the Des Moines and Minneapolis markets, with reach across Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and Minnesota. Chad's expertise spans credit, M&A financing, leveraged change-of-control transactions, and ownership succession, with a deepening focus on owner and family-level advisory work. He is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa and completed the Credit Management Training Program at Wells Fargo Bank. Chad is an active member of the ESOP Association and the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO).

Passions

Chad is committed to making a difference in the communities he serves. He is a dedicated supporter of the ALS Association, contributing to the fight against a disease that affects countless families across the country. Outside of work, Chad's greatest joy is time spent with his wife and their sons — whether at home or on the road traveling to visit them. That sense of connection and family is at the heart of everything he does.