Mark Sander was named president of Illinois-based First Midwest Bancorp.

Sander also serves as chief operating officer and as a director of the company. He also will continue his roles as president, chief operating officer and director of First Midwest Bank.

“Mark’s appointment is a natural extension of the important role he has played over the past seven years in helping us deliver strong growth and business performance,” said Mike Scudder, chairman and CEO of First Midwest. “His strategic insight and exceptional leadership will serve us well as we continue our position as Chicago’s premier commercial bank and execute on our vision of being our clients’ most trusted financial partner.”

First Midwest operates 110 locations, mostly in the metropolitan Chicago area, which includes 17 branches across Northwest Indiana.

Sander’s financial services industry experience spans more than 35 years. He joined First Midwest in June 2011 and has had direct management responsibility for the operating performance of First Midwest Bank, including oversight of the bank’s commercial, consumer and wealth management businesses, as well as credit administration, operations, information technology, marketing and communications.

Prior to joining First Midwest, Sander served as executive vice president, head of commercial banking at Associated Banc-Corp where he oversaw Associated’s commercial banking, treasury management, insurance brokerage and capital markets businesses. He also served as a member of the Associated’s executive and ALCO committees.

Sander earned a master's in business administration from the University of Chicago and a bachelor of science degree from the University of Illinois.