Liberty Bank announces a changing of the guard in naming Todd McDonald its new president

16th May 2022   ·   0 Comments

By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer

Liberty Bank and Trust’s board of directors and its co-founder and CEO Alden McDonald Jr. announced Todd McDonald would has taken over as president effective May 1.

Todd McDonald is the son of Alden McDonald, who led Liberty Bank and Trust as it became the largest Black-owned bank in the United States.

“Todd has the leadership skills, vision, and drive that the bank needs in these unprecedented times,” said McDonald Jr. in a press release. “I’m excited to see him continue to build a culture and team committed to push the bank to new levels. I know that our amazing staff, friends, and family will allow him to enjoy the same levels of support and dedication to which I have been privileged for the last fifty years.”

Todd McDonald joined Liberty in 2003 after earning his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College. He would also earn a MBA from Northwestern in 2013. Todd has worked in a variety of areas at Liberty, including mortgage, human resources, asset liabilities, and the board of directors. Before being named president, he was executive vice president for corporate strategy.

McDonald said he felt a wave of emotions when he received the news that he would become the bank’s president.

“It was very exciting and energizing, but there was some nervousness as well,” Todd McDonald said.

Taking over the family business wasn’t a preordained decision for McDonald. He said his parents always respected his choices and wishes. They never pressured him to work for Liberty.

But McDonald always had an interest in business, dating back to his childhood when he ran his own businesses doing things like washing the cars of family friends and decorating pine cones then selling them as Christmas ornaments. Eventually, he made the choice to return to the family business.

“Over the years, I understood what the bank was doing,” McDonald said. “I saw firsthand how the bank impacted people personally and professionally.”

When asked about the future of Liberty, McDonald replied that the bank would work to embrace technology and expand its platforms for banking in areas where Liberty does not have a physical branch. It currently has branches in 11 states, but McDonald said it now does virtual business in other states, too.

“We can do business with anyone, anywhere in the United States,” Todd McDonald said.

While new technology might lead Liberty to new places, the bank’s mission will remain the same. It seeks to provide business loans, mortgage loans, and other financial support for people of different backgrounds, including those who might not have been able to get loans at other banks. He said the bank’s clientele is a healthy mix of people with high net worth and low net worth.

“Our mission has been consistent over 50 years and it has been to bring financial products and services to underserved communities,” said McDonald.

Liberty co-founder and chairman Dr. Norman C. Francis voiced his support for the bank’s new president, and echoed McDonald’s commitment to continuing Liberty’s mission.

“Maintaining continuity, loyalty, and an unquestioned commitment to everything we founded Liberty to be and mean to the underserved was a crucial factor in our naming Todd as president,” said Dr. Francis in a press release.

This article originally published in the May 16, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.