2021 – Present
Ellendale, North Dakota was home to Todd Steinwand who took the helm as president and chief executive officer of Bank of North Dakota (BND) in 2021.
Steinwand was the middle child of five children born to Victor and Orpha Steinwand. He learned the values of teamwork and dedication as he grew up a multi-sport athlete, playing football, basketball, baseball and running track. His skills interested what was then Jamestown College, today known as University of Jamestown, and he was offered a scholarship to play football and run track.
A 1982 college graduate with double majors in business administration and history/political science, Steinwand credits his parents and coaches with his strong work ethic and positive attitude. His first exposure to banking as a career choice came when his dad, an insurance agent, took him to a North Dakota Bankers Association meeting and introduced him to Norm Christensen, a banker from Wahpeton, North Dakota.
Norm Christensen proved to be the inspiration Steinwand needed to enter banking, a career track he never left. He started as a trust officer at First Northwestern Trust Company, an organization that became part of Wells Fargo over the years. Steinwand’s career with Wells Fargo spanned 33 years where he held nearly every position except teller, until he retired in 2015 and accepted the Chief Business Development Officer position at BND.
BND was supposed to be a job for just a couple of years to oversee some organizational transition, but it didn’t take Steinwand long to realize what a special place it was. He enjoyed working with banking friends across the state, rather than competing with them. The Bank allowed him to influence his community and state in a meaningful way, something he learned from his father who had been the mayor of Ellendale for 12 years.
When Eric Hardmeyer retired in 2021, Steinwand served as interim president before being offered the position permanently.
