Chelsea State Bank announces historic appointment, new positions

CHELSEA – The Board of Directors of CSB Bancorp and Chelsea State Bank recently announced the appointment of President Joanne Rau to President and Chief Executive Officer of Chelsea State Bank effective January 1. John Mann remains Chairman of the Board.

The Board of Directors of Chelsea State Bank also announced Annette Houle will be stepping into the newly created Risk Manager role effective January 4. At the same time, Nina Herrst joins the Bank as Vice President, Retail Administrator and Branch Manager of the Plaza office.

“I am extremely pleased that Joanne has accepted this historical appointment and is our first woman president and CEO, and the first non-Mann or Schaible in 99 years,” stated Chelsea State Bank Chairman of the Board, John Mann. “I am equally pleased to announce Annette is taking on our new role as Risk Manager, and Nina is joining our Bank. As Chelsea State Bank continues to grow, leadership, bank oversight and excellent customer service are essential to our success as we focus on the individuals, families, farmers and businesses in our communities. Joanne and her teams will definitely excel in meeting our customer and community needs as we move forward.”

Joanne Rau

President and CEO Joanne Rau joined Chelsea State Bank as President in 2019 with 19 years of distinguished banking experience. She was elected to the Board of Directors of CSB Bancorp and Chelsea State Bank in January 2020. Prior to joining Chelsea State Bank, Rau spent the last 15 years moving into executive positions at Fifth Third Bank (Cincinnati) and most recently as Senior Vice President and Business Banking Executive.

Rau received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Eastern Michigan University. She is currently the Treasurer of Girls on the Run Southeastern Michigan, a board member of 5 Healthy Towns, and sits on the Executive Committee of Ann Arbor Spark.  She is past chair of United Way Washtenaw Power of the Purse and board member of Winning Futures. Rau resides in the Chelsea community with her family.

Antonina (Nina) Herrst

Herrst joins Chelsea State Bank as Vice President, Retail Administrator and Branch Manager of the Plaza office. With over 15 years of retail banking experience, Herrst spent the last five years at Flagstar Bank as the Assistant Vice President, Branch Manager in Ann Arbor and Chelsea.  Prior to Flagstar, she was the Branch Manager at KeyBank in Chelsea and spent seven years at TCF where she earned her retail banking stripes in a variety of roles.  She also holds an NMLS license.

Herrst is the Secretary of the Chelsea Rotary Club and member of the Chelsea chapter of Business Networking International (BNI). A Manchester native, she and her husband Robert reside in Freedom Township with their two boys.

Annette Houle

Houle takes on her newly created role as Assistant Vice President, Risk Manager. She began her career with Chelsea State Bank in 1977 in the Bookkeeping Department. With over 40 years of banking experience at Chelsea State Bank, Houle has progressed through the retail operations of the Bank including her most recent position of Branch Administrator and Bank Security Act (BSA) Officer.

A Chelsea native, Houle sits on the St Mary Parish Finance Council and is a former board member of the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce and United Way.

About Chelsea State Bank

Chelsea State Bank is a full-service financial institution with offices in Chelsea and Dexter. The Bank was formed over 100 years ago by local business leaders to provide timely financial solutions to individuals, families and businesses in the community. This tradition of community service continues today.  For more information, please call 734.475.1355 or visit www.chelseastate.bank.  Member FDIC.