Petaluma’s Troy Sanderson to head Exchange Bank

Troy Sanderson, a Petaluma resident with deep roots in the community, will take over as president and CEO of Exchange Bank, the company announced last week.

Currently the executive vice president and chief banking officer, he will succeed current president Gary Hartwick when he steps down at the end of the year.

“It’s humbling,” Sanderson, 55, said in an interview. “This institution is a cornerstone in the community. I’m excited for the opportunity. I feel like I couldn’t be in a better place to finish my career in banking.”

Sanderson joined Exchange Bank in 2018. He formerly served as president of the Bank of Rio Vista, commuting for years to the Central Valley community. Yet he remained involved in Petaluma, where his family has resided for more than 100 years. He was elected and served for 10 years on the Petaluma City Schools District board and was president of Petaluma National Little League. He is also on the board of COTS, the Petaluma homelessness nonprofit.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University, Sacramento and graduated with honors from the Pacific Coast Banking School in Washington.

Hartwick, who has led the bank for 12 years, said Sanderson was the right person to lead the bank into the future.

“I am excited for Troy and his promotion is certainly well deserved,” he said in a statement. “Troy is an experienced community banker and is the right fit for Exchange Bank and the community values that we hold.”

Sanderson will be just the ninth president of the bank founded in Sonoma County in 1890 by Manville and Frank Doyle. The bank has provided $90 million in scholarships for students at Santa Rosa Junior College. Sanderson received a Doyle scholarship when he attended SRJC after high school.

As president, Sanderson will oversee a newly implemented mobile banking system and the continued recovery from the coronavirus shutdown. Exchange Bank is the largest Small Business Administration lender in Sonoma County and has worked on recovery efforts from wildfires and the pandemic.

Exchange Bank has $2.8 billion in assets and 18 branches in Sonoma County, including Petaluma. It was recently named the Petaluma Large Business of the Year from the Petaluma Community Awards of Excellence.

Sanderson said he hopes to continue the bank’s storied tradition.

“Frank Doyle was a visionary,” Sanderson said. “His legacy was to leave a road map for what it means to be a community leader. He set an incredibly high bar, which I hope to reach for.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)