Dubuque, Iowa-base Heartland Financial USA (HTLF) is getting a new CFO.

More than a month has elapsed since Heartland Chief Financial Officer John K. Schmidt resigned his post. But on Wednesday, Heartland announced that it has found a replacement. New hire Bryan McKeag will join the company on Sept. 23, coming from his previous post as corporate controller and principal accounting officer for Green Bay, Wis.-based Associated Banc-Corp (NASDAQ: ASBC).

Associated Banc-Corp is described as a $24 billion bank holding company, although its market cap is only $2.7 billion. Either way, Associated is a much larger financial institution than Heartland, with a market cap of only $455 million. In fact, Heartland CEO Lynn B. Fuller made a point of noting the disparity in sizes, commenting that McKeag's "background in larger organizations will be invaluable as Heartland executes its expansion strategies."

In a filing with the SEC, Heartland advised that it will pay McKeag an annual base salary of $300,000, plus ...

  • A $30,000 annual bonus for fiscal 2013.
  • A 2014 bonus targeting 50% of base compensation.
  • A signing bonus of $50,000.
  • 8,000 shares of restricted stock, with half vesting immediately and the remainder over the next three years.
  • 3,750 more shares of restricted stock, to be granted next year under the company's Long Term Incentive Plan.

... and other additional benefits.