Bank of Texas gets a new CEO

Bank of Texas is getting a new leader on Jan. 1. Mark Wade will replace longtime CEO Norm Bagwell, who led the bank for more than 15 years and will transition to a part-time role in January. “I have tremendous pride in the brand and track record of success we have built in Texas, and I have no doubt Mark will continue that momentum when he steps into the role,” Bagwell said in a statement.

Bagwell has a long history in the banking world of Dallas. After getting degrees in history and business administration from Southern Methodist University, he worked for MBank in Dallas, which failed in 1989. He then worked his way up to president of Bank One Dallas, which merged with JP Morgan Chase. While working at Chase, Bagwell was suffering from kidney failure, and his wife, Robin, donated one of her kidneys to him. Bagwell previously told The Dallas Morning News, “Robin said, ‘I have done the research, and I have decided that I am going to donate my kidney to someone. If you want it, you’d better get in line.’ " The up-and-coming leader, Wade, joined the company in 2001 as the Dallas corporate banking manager and was named president and chief operating officer in 2008. Since 2020, he has been executive director of the company’s commercial banking line of business.