A message from your market president

David Dannemiller has more than 31 years of banking experience nationally, including more than 25 years in Northeast Ohio. With a focus on corporate and commercial banking growth, he is responsible for the bank’s commercial and industrial client relationships. He also oversees the local commercial banking team, as well as serving as a liaison to First Financial’s specialty business lines in equipment leasing and finance, specialty financing, wealth management and capital markets. In his first year with First Financial, he quickly grew the bank’s presence in the Northeast Ohio region, putting close to $100 million of capital to work.

Dannemiller is the board chair of Building Hope in the City, a Cleveland nonprofit delivering opportunities that are transforming the neighborhoods of Clark-Fulton and Stockyards, and Cleveland’s refugee and immigrant communities. Building Hope in the City particularly focuses on giving opportunity, dignity, and employment by equipping small business entrepreneurs with coaching, learning and support to help them succeed. Dannemiller played an instrumental role in the organization’s $6 million Flourish capital campaign.

Dave also donates his time to the Leadership Cleveland Foundation advisory board, the Miami University Venture Pitch competition and Bay Presbyterian Church, where he is board chair. He is a former board member at The Achievement Center, Providence House, and the Centers for Families and Children. He has also been a guest presenter on financial topics at Miami University, John Carroll University and Leadership Akron.

Education:
MBA, Finance and Marketing, Case Western Reserve University
B.S. Finance, Miami University
FINRA Investment Banking License

Christian has been working in the banking industry for more than 20 years. He has a strong history supporting merger & acquisition transactions, as well as C&I and Owner-Occupied real estate lending. He takes pride in his consultant-style approach and ability to help middle market-sized businesses reach their goals.

Highlights of Christian’s career include a $15MM syndicate deal, and he has acknowledged that these deals come out of relationships built on trust and value adds. He graduated from the Pennsylvania Bankers Association School of Commercial Lending in 2016, and his dedication to the client has been recognized with being named to the Leadership Circle in Q1 2024.

His commitment to First Financial’s value of Local f1RST can be seen as he volunteers for the Cleveland Foodbank.

Mike has more than twenty-five years of experience in the banking industry. He’s held a variety of roles through his career, including leadership positions at the Vice President level. He joined First Financial Bank because he is passionate about using his industry knowledge to support the growth of local businesses in the Cleveland area.

His experience covers many facets of financial products and services, including Portfolio Management, Business Relationship Management, Commercial Lending, Banking, and Sales. Mike’s comprehensive understanding of lending practices makes him a trusted voice in the industry, producing creative and reliable solutions for clients. His commitment to excellence has earned him the respect of colleagues and clients throughout the Cleveland region.

Additionally, Mike is a strong business development professional with a business degree from Bowling Green State University and an MBA from Pfeiffer University.

William has more than a decade of commercial banking experience in a variety of roles including financial sponsor relationship management, foreign exchange trading and sales, underwriting, and portfolio management.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, William obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Miami University and is currently pursuing his MBA at John Carroll University. This robust business knowledge is one of the many reasons William is quick to develop strong relationships with clients and other stakeholders.

William lives the First Financial Bank value of being Proudly Local. He volunteers with local community service organizations such as the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. He also is passionate about volunteering with and supporting Esperanza, a non-profit 501(c)(3) serving to promote the attainment of post-secondary education within the Greater Cleveland Hispanic community. This work ties into his love of his family and his culture—all four of his grandparents migrated to Cleveland from Puerto Rico in the 1940s, and they passed down a meaningful percentage of Taíno ancestry, an historic Indigenous people of the Caribbean. 

Kathy has nearly thirty years of experience providing home mortgages. She takes great pride in helping clients explore their specific mortgage needs and exhibits dedication and care when assisting them in selecting the best financing option tailor-made for them.

Passionate about helping clients achieve dreams of homeownership, Kathy feels there is nothing more rewarding than guiding current and future home buyers to the right resources and financial products. She dedicates herself to all aspects of her work, supporting homeowners as they buy their first home or build their dream home, or helping them refinance to save money, pay off debt, or finance a remodel to create their forever home.

Kathy lives the First Financial Bank value of being Proudly Local, and consistently makes time to serve the less fortunate in the community. Currently, she volunteers with United Way Summit/Medina on the Community Impact committee. She also finds ways to mentor the youth of the area, believing that "A little love goes a long way."

Bill has more than twenty years of experience in the banking industry. He’s held a variety of roles through his career, including leadership positions at the Director and Vice President level. He joined First Financial Bank in 2022, eager to bring his industry knowledge to the specialty sectors of business lending, including Business Capital, National Corporate and ESOPs and Agribusiness.

His experience covers many facets of financial products and services: new deal underwriting and portfolio management, cash flow and ABL financing for sponsored and non-sponsored companies, and capital and strategic advice for privately held companies and private equity firms. This comprehensive understanding of lending practices makes Bill a trusted voice in the industry, producing creative and reliable solutions for clients. His commitment to excellence has earned him the respect of colleagues and clients throughout the Cleveland region.

Bill lives the First Financial value of being Proudly Local by volunteering with his church and other community programs.