BOK Financial promotes Fayetteville banker to Arkansas market president

Tulsa, Okla.-based BOK Financial announced Thursday (Aug. 11) that Chris Schaechtel of Fayetteville is the company’s new Arkansas market president.

He replaces Jacob Hudson, who took a new job with the company earlier this year.

“I have no doubt that Chris will do an excellent job of leading the Arkansas market,” Hudson said in a statement. “He has been part of the team since 2010, and our customers already have a great appreciation for his work ethic and commitment to providing the best customer service in the industry.”

BOK Financial is a publicly traded company with roughly $45 billion in assets and branches in eight states. In Arkansas, there are two offices in Bentonville and Fayetteville. BOK entered the market in 1994 when its subsidiary Bank of Oklahoma acquired a bank holding company with operations in Northwest Arkansas, which later became Bank of Arkansas.

Bank of Arkansas rebranded to BOK Financial in late 2019. The company has approximately 75 employees in Arkansas.

“Chris is a tremendous asset to the company. He has more than a decade of industry insights and experience under his belt,” said Mark Nurdin, executive vice president of regional banking for BOK Financial. “Under his leadership, the team will be well positioned to support clients in this incredibly challenging and ever-changing environment.”

According to the news release, Schaechtel has worked in the financial industry for more than 15 years, starting in operations, then assistant branch manager, before becoming a commercial real estate analyst, underwriter and credit specialist. Most recently, he was a corporate relationship manager at BOK Financial.

“I am absolutely thrilled about this opportunity,” Schaechtel said. “The culture at BOK Financial is unbeatable, and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity to serve my community in this capacity.”