Ed is Director Specialized Industries, SVP of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (HTLF). He is responsible for the company’s food and beverage business including: refining our market strategy, growing existing partnerships and expanding our breadth of relationships, in direct collaboration with team members throughout our family of community banks.
Prior to joining HTLF, Ed served as Senior Vice President for Wells Fargo, where he joined in 2005. He was responsible for new business development and managing client relationships for the Food and Agribusiness Middle Market Banking Office. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, he held positions at Cole Taylor Bank, Bank of America and BMO/Harris Bank.
In addition to his company responsibilities, Ed has conducted speaking engagements at industry conferences and has published articles in the ABA and RMA Journals. He is on the Board of Directors of John Carroll University, is on the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation Board of Directors where he serves on the Executive Committee, is a member of Posse Foundation’s Chicago Leadership Council, is the past Chairman of the Illinois Center for Violence Prevention, and is a past President of the Union League Club of Chicago.
Cooper received his Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management and his Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Administration from John Carroll University. He resides in Chicago with his wife Patty DeBiasi, and has two adult children: James and Grace. Cooper enjoys audio books, golfing, biking, and playing basketball.