Bryan Duncan

As a founding member and director of Signature Bank, I work with my co-founders to lead the strategic direction of the bank in addition to managing day-to-day operations. I make sure all of our decisions, initiatives and investments further our mission: To exceed the expectations of our customers, investors, and employees by building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships and approaching each and every relationship with enthusiasm, honesty, and integrity.

Having worked in Chicago middle-market banking for more than 25 years, I saw a void in the banking community. There wasn’t a true commercial bank focused on serving Chicago’s privately-held, middle-market businesses.

So in 2005, Mick O’Rourke, Kevin Bastuga and I teamed up to create a better option for middle-market Chicago businesses. At Signature Bank, we see our customer relationships as our #1 asset. We care about their companies and their success. We start by looking for a way to say yes—even when it isn’t easy. As leaders of the Bank, we sit across from our customers, and when we make a commitment, we deliver. We can do this because we personally make the decisions—there is no red tape or big bank bureaucracy. And we’ve built a team and culture around these principles. We hire people with the same values, acumen and drive to deliver a better experience and better results, helping Chicagoland’s businesses grow and succeed.

When I am not at the bank, you’ll find me supporting my two daughters’ swim team and figure skating team or watching my son’s hockey team. I was always involved in athletics growing up and played baseball for the University of Northern Iowa, so instilling the invaluable lessons of sportsmanship, teamwork and personal achievement in my kids and others is very important to me. I bring a lot of those qualities to leading the bank. When I can, I unwind on the golf course, or up in Northern Wisconsin where I love to fish and hang out with my wife and family.