Local News

Taking the helm: Tyler Wilcox starts as new Peoples President & CEO

Peoples Bancorp Inc. had Chuck Sulerzyski at the helm for 13 years, before he retired March 29.

Now a new leader has taken the wheel.

As of April 1, Tyler Wilcox is the new President & CEO of Peoples Bancorp Inc.and its subsidiary Peoples Bank.

Wilcox poked fun at his start date, saying "It's an April Fool's joke." He said this is his 16th year at Peoples, after starting in 2008.

Wilcox began his Peoples career in the legal department in Marietta as an associate counsel handling contracts, giving legal advice and performing other legal duties, he said.

He didn't start out in banking.

Wilcox said he grew up in New York and California.

He received a bachelor's degree in history from Brigham Young University and then decided to go to law school. He picked The Ohio State University.

"I ended up really loving the state," he said of his time at law school in Ohio.

After graduating law school in 2005, Wilcox said he worked as a criminal prosecutor for the city of Columbus.

Wilcox was interested in financial services and the opportunity to work at Peoples came up.

He said he and his wife were interested in the region because of the smaller town feel and community aspect, so he took the job.

Wilcox was an associate counsel for four years. He no longer practices law, but he does keep his license active, he said.

Wilcox became the human resources director for Peoples and stayed in that position four years. During that time, Sulerzyski came on board and they started transforming the bank and the culture, he said.

While he was the head of human resources, the number of employees at Peoples grew from 400 to over 15,000.

Being the human resources director "was a really great opportunity to get to transform the bank," Wilcox said.

Wilcox shifted from human resources to insurance, becoming the President of Peoples Insurance Agency. He stayed in the position for three years, he said.

Peoples was performing acquisitions in southern Ohio and Kentucky, so Wilcox moved to Ashland, Ky., to become the regional president for the southern region, he said.

After two years Wilcox said he and his family moved back to Marietta for him to be the executive vice president of community banking. He said he enjoyed his time in Ashland but "It was great to be back."

Sulerzyski announced he was retiring in July 2023 and Wilcox was then named senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Peoples Bancorp and subsidiary Peoples Bank.

Since that time Wilcox said has been leading the ebusiness and preparing to succeed Sulerzyski.

"I was so excited, so honored, having been here 16 years," Wilcox said of being named the new president and CEO of Peoples. "It was very exciting and humbling at the same time."

Wilcox has raised his four children in the Marietta area, Warren specifically. He loves the people here, he said.

Wilcox said when his parents visit from California they say how nice the people are here.

"The Midwest kind of vibe is a better fit for me and a great place to raise a family," he said of the Marietta area. "I like the people, there's a great sense of community".

Wilcox said he likes to spend his free time with his children at their activities and going to local arts events and performances.

He loves the outdoors and he said it is one of the reasons he loves living in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

"It's a very beautiful part of the country."

Wilcox is excited to be the president and CEO of Peoples.

"I couldn't be more excited to have this opportunity and to lead this awesome group of men and women," he said.

Wilcox plans on building on what Sulerzyski and others have started at Peoples and wants "to make it the best bank we can," he said.

He said that Peoples expanded to Lousivlle, Lexington and their surrounding areas last year.

One of his goals as the new president and CEO is to take the capabilities of the bank and make them happen in the new markets and help their banks there with their insurance, investments, 401K and other financial capabilities.

"We'll continue to look for opportunities to do acquisitions and expand our geography but it's more important to get better than bigger," Wilcox said about his plans for Peoples.

He said he will also continue to try to make Peoples an awesome place to work.

Wilcox has invested a lot of his career at Peoples and said "I'm very excited about my long future here."