Florida Banking March 2022

among other things. Amerant uses recycled water bottles and its branches give out reusable, branded grocery bags made of recycled materials. The bank has also installed electric vehicle charging stations at its headquarters and plans to deploy more in other locations. On the governance side, Amerant is focused on fair pay, diversity and inclusion, and its board composition. Plush has created a new C-suite position and appointed Kristy Amaro as Chief of Diversity & Inclusion; in her new role, she will work to further enhance opportunities for diverse representation in the company. When it comes to growing the Amerant team, Plush emphasizes that he is not only looking for bankers or those with prior banking experience. “The integration of different backgrounds makes a huge difference in our company,” said Plush. “There are terrific people here, and that’s what has helped drive our success.” Partnering with Fintechs Amerant has launched a number of products in partnership with fintechs, including Marstone, Alloy,

Amerant Bank, Continued from page 9

“Our folks have been very creative in doing a lot with very little. And now that we’ve put dollars behind these marketing campaigns, we’ve amplified our efforts and increased our brand recognition as a result,” said Plush. Prioritizing ESG Initiatives So too has Plush made a push for implementing sustainable solutions in the workplace. Consumers, especially, are increasingly mindful of business’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Having observed the impacts of the environment and climate change in Miami and Houston, Amerant feels that it’s critical to show its customers how serious its bank leadership is about ESG. “There are so many little things you can do under ESG to positively impact the environment,” said Plush. “ESG is not a checklist for us; we want to make it a way of life. At Amerant, we ask, ‘How can we thread ESG into our DNA as an organization?’” In the initial phase of this process, the company has focused on more immediate changes; this includes recycling, going paperless, and eliminating plastic,

The Amerant Bank women executives, from left, are: Laura Rossi, Anahy Espiga, Silvia Larrieu, Christine Esteve, and Kristy Amaro.

10 — FLORIDA BANKING THE VOICE OF FLORIDA BANKING