On January 23, El Paso-based WestStar Bank announced the executive vice president promotions of Lee Rodriguez, chief human resource officer; Jerry Harris, chief credit officer; and Orlando Hernandez, chief information officer.
Rodriguez has served as chief human resource officer with WestStar Bank for almost 20 years. She manages all aspects of human resources, as well as learning and development, including compensation and benefits, payroll, recruitment, employee relations, employee development and retention, and culture for the WestStar organization. Prior to joining WestStar Bank, she was human resources manager at a local real estate investment company and before that she worked in operations for a large bank.
Rodriguez holds a BBA degree from the University of Texas–El Paso and is a graduate of the Western States School of Banking. She is a member of the executive network of the Society for Human Resource Management and is a certified senior professional of human resources. An alumnus of Leadership Texas, Rodriguez is a member of the Texas Tech University Excellence in Banking HR committee. She has served on the boards for the Children’s Grief Center of El Paso and the American Cancer Society, and also completed a two-year term as a commissioner for the El Paso County Civil Service Commission.
Harris recently completed his 37th year in banking, all of which have been in the El Paso community. He joined WestStar Bank’s commercial lending team in 2000 as senior vice president. In 2016, he took on the additional role of deputy chief credit officer and was subsequently promoted to chief credit officer in 2017. In addition to monitoring credit risk, loan concentrations and adherence to regulatory and bank policies, he also has direct oversight and responsibility for the bank’s credit operations department, as well as the training and development of the bank’s credit analysts.
Harris earned a BBA degree in finance and management from Texas Tech University. He serves as board president of Ronald McDonald House Charities of El Paso Inc., a member of the Sunrise Rotary Club (past president) and officiates NCAA D-1 football. Harris is also a Leadership El Paso alumnus, past lay member of the Texas State Bar Association’s grievance committee, past president of the Southwest Football Official Association of El Paso and serves on the boards of the El Paso chapter of the American Red Cross, El Paso Lighthouse for the Blind and El Paso Zoological Society.
Hernandez has served as chief information officer of WestStar Bank since 2015. He joined WestStar Bank (then Bank of the West) in 1999 as a systems analyst. He is currently responsible for the oversight of business technology services, which encompasses data analytics, digital, information technology and project management. He has served in a number of roles within the information technology department during his career at WestStar Bank, including manager of network administration, vice president of information technology, first vice president of information technology and senior vice president/chief information officer.
Hernandez received a BS degree in computer engineering from Southern Methodist University and an MBA degree from the University of Texas–El Paso. He is also a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking (SWGSB) at Southern Methodist University, where he received both the SWGSB alumni scholarship and graduate with distinction honor. Hernandez served as treasurer for the Child Crisis Center of El Paso, is a former board member for the Ronald McDonald House and committee member for the Alzheimer’s Association. He has chaired United Way’s IT steering committee and has helped establish computer work labs for community organizations that serve underprivileged minors. He has served as a guest speaker at the University of Texas–El Paso’s masters of business administration program, lecturing on fintech topics with MBA students.
“These executives have shown outstanding performance and leadership in their respective fields,” says L. Frederick Francis, executive chairman.
Established in 1990, WestStar Bank serves the El Paso Las Cruces, and Northern Mexico area—collectively known as the Borderplex region.
