Jessica Stejskal
About Jessica Stejskal
Jessica Stejskal is Chief Experience Officer at Bridgewater Bancshares (effective September 15, 2025), overseeing enterprise initiatives across marketing, client experience, community impact, and project management; she joined Bridgewater in 2014 after prior marketing leadership roles and holds a BA in communications (University of North Dakota) and an MBA (University of St. Thomas) . She joined the Strategic Leadership Team in 2025 as part of a succession plan, with mandates to unify and elevate the client experience across channels to support growth and brand strength . Company performance context: Net Income and PPNR were $32.8M and $45.9M respectively in 2024; $40.0M and $51.6M in 2023; $53.4M and $79.7M in 2022; $45.7M and $67.1M in 2021, while cumulative TSR tracked 141.6→142.0→108.3→108.2 over 2021-2024, reflecting macro rate headwinds and the bank’s balance sheet optimization .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgewater Bancshares | Senior Vice President, Marketing | 2014–2025 | Expanded market presence and reinforced reputation for an unconventional client experience . |
| Bridgewater Bancshares | Chief Experience Officer | Sep 2025–present | Leads enterprise initiatives to unify and elevate client experience across all channels; member of Strategic Leadership Team . |
External Roles
- Not disclosed.
Fixed Compensation
- Base salary, bonus targets, and actual bonuses for Ms. Stejskal are not disclosed. Executive pay in 2024 for Named Executive Officers (NEOs) followed a balanced mix of base salary, annual cash incentives, and long-term equity; Ms. Stejskal was not a 2024 NEO and her individual cash compensation is not reported .
Performance Compensation
Bridgewater’s executive incentive framework (NEO program; useful context for CXO role) emphasizes pay-for-performance against objective and subjective goals:
| Element | Metric/Structure | Weighting | Threshold | Target | Maximum | Payout Basis | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short-Term Incentive (Cash) | Adjusted PPNR | 50% | $39,113k | $57,365k (110% of budget) | $63,102k | 0–150% on sliding scale | Cash (annual) |
| Short-Term Incentive (Cash) | Individual goals (Committee discretion) | 50% | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0–100% based on qualitative evaluation | Cash (annual) |
| Long-Term Incentives | RSUs (4-year ratable vest) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Time-based; grant-date fair value per ASC 718 | 25% per year over 4 years |
- 2024 committee adjustments excluded one-time acquisition costs and included gains on security sales to derive Adjusted PPNR; the Company still met threshold on an unadjusted basis, underscoring conservative incentive calibration .
- Equity awards across plans include provisions for accelerated vesting (e.g., change in control, death, disability), per plan terms .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Common shares beneficially owned | 12,961 shares (Direct) . |
| Ownership as % of shares outstanding | ~0.047% (12,961 / 27,596,315 shares outstanding as of Feb 24, 2025) . |
| Options held | 1,600 options at $7.47; 10,000 options at $10.65 (expiration 08/01/2033); Direct ownership . |
| Vested vs unvested | Not disclosed; Form 3 reports holdings but not vesting status . |
| Pledging | No pledging disclosed for Ms. Stejskal in her Form 3 . |
| Hedging policy | Company prohibits hedging by directors, officers, and employees . |
| Insider trading windows | Open window begins after second full trading day post-earnings until two weeks before quarter-end . |
| Stock ownership guidelines | No formal executive stock ownership guidelines currently; Committee cited significant existing insider ownership and historical retention among NEOs . |
| Board/SLT alignment | Board and Strategic Leadership Team owned over 20% of common stock, indicating strong insider alignment . |
Employment Terms
- Employment agreement terms specific to Ms. Stejskal are not disclosed. Company risk-mitigating governance applies broadly to executives:
- Clawback policy permits recovery of incentive compensation for restatements or misconduct .
- Equity plans provide acceleration for change-in-control, death, disability per plan terms (e.g., 2017 Stock Option Plan acceleration on change in control; RSUs accelerate in qualifying events) .
- Anti-hedging and insider trading policies govern executive transactions .
Performance & Track Record
| Period | Company Metric | Value |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2021 | Net Income ($USD thousands) | $45,687 |
| FY 2022 | Net Income ($USD thousands) | $53,392 |
| FY 2023 | Net Income ($USD thousands) | $39,960 |
| FY 2024 | Net Income ($USD thousands) | $32,825 |
| FY 2021 | PPNR ($USD thousands) | $67,117 |
| FY 2022 | PPNR ($USD thousands) | $79,736 |
| FY 2023 | PPNR ($USD thousands) | $51,588 |
| FY 2024 | PPNR ($USD thousands) | $45,876 |
| 2021→2024 | Cumulative TSR (Company) | 141.63 → 142.03 → 108.25 → 108.17 |
- Strategic impact: As SVP Marketing, helped expand Bridgewater’s market presence and client experience; as CXO, tasked to unify and elevate client experience amid branch-light efficiency model and continued Twin Cities growth .
- Organizational execution: 2024 initiatives included core deposit growth (+$559.4M), reduced loan-to-deposit (94.7% from 100.4%), superb asset quality (NCOs 0.03%; NPAs/Assets 0.01%), and First Minnetonka acquisition completion .
Governance and Policies (Executive-Relevant)
- Compensation Committee uses independent consultants (Pearl Meyer) and peer benchmarking; performance goals set annually with calibrated difficulty and risk controls .
- No repricing of options without shareholder approval; minimum one-year vest on restricted stock; no guaranteed annual bonuses .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Hedging prohibited; no hedging by insiders reported .
- Pledging: Not disclosed for Ms. Stejskal; company-wide disclosures show certain insiders with pledged shares, underscoring need to monitor executive pledging practices; no specific pledge by Stejskal appears in Form 3 .
- Related party transactions are overseen with formal reviews; none involve Ms. Stejskal per available disclosures .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback (Context)
- 2024 say-on-pay support was 96.25%, indicating strong shareholder approval of executive pay design and alignment .
Compensation Peer Group (Context)
- 21-bank peer group used to calibrate pay and program design, emphasizing asset size, performance, geography, and business model comparability .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Direct ownership and options provide some skin-in-the-game; insider ownership across Board/SLT (>20%) strengthens alignment signals .
- Retention risk: CXO appointment onto SLT with enterprise remit suggests succession depth; lack of disclosed severance terms for Stejskal increases uncertainty versus NEO agreements that include 1x salary severance and 2x base+bonus upon change-in-control, but her specific terms are unreported .
- Trading signals: Initial Form 3 indicates modest holdings and two option positions; monitor Form 4 filings post-appointment for selling pressure and vesting-related liquidity; company insider trading windows and anti-hedging policy reduce opportunistic trading risk .
- Pay-for-performance culture: 2024 incentive payouts were constrained by performance outcomes, evidencing disciplined incentive governance; expect similar calibration for CXO role around client experience KPIs and growth initiatives, even though her individual targets are undisclosed .