Tammy Durnan

As president of Midwest Heritage, the banking subsidiary of Hy-Vee, Tammy Durnan leads with a simple yet powerful philosophy: Take care of employees and the rest will follow.

Midwest Heritage, founded 95 years ago and owned by Hy-Vee since 1986, operates nine locations — including five in-store branches in Iowa. The bank’s integration within grocery stores reflects its emphasis on accessibility and service, offering customers extended hours and a full suite of banking, mortgage, insurance and wealth management services in a convenient setting.

Durnan’s career mirrors that service-first ethos. She began in banking as a teller at a small credit union and later joined Midwest Heritage as a bank manager. After a brief stint away, she returned in 2008 as vice president of retail sales, steadily expanding her oversight to include marketing, human resources, loan operations, private banking and branch management before being promoted to president last July.

“Our key differentiator is the experience,” Durnan said, citing her long-standing internal mantra: “Exceeding expectations — every customer, every interaction, every time.”

Under her leadership, Midwest Heritage has embraced technology uncommon for institutions of its size, including implementing Salesforce as a customer relationship management (CRM) platform and upgrading its loan origination systems. The organization also received national recognition this year, being named one of the top financial advisory firms in the nation by Newsweek, and also introduced a refreshed logo design.

Throughout its 95-year history, Midwest Heritage has maintained the same high-touch service model that it was founded upon while continuing to grow and evolve. For Durnan, that resilience stems from culture. “If we take care of our employees, we take care of our customers — and the bottom line will shine,” she said.