First Midwest Bancorp chairman dies

One of the guiding forces behind the suburban growth of First Midwest Bancorp passed away suddenly on Saturday, leaving its directors to convene an emergency meeting on Sunday to put into action their succession plan.

John M. O'Meara, a Kildeer resident, was the bank's chairman and chief executive officer. He had served First Midwest and its predecessor companies since 1970, including 22 years in executive management. He was 62.

Bank officials announced that the bank's president, Michael Scudder, 48, was elected chief executive officer. Previously, Scudder had served as president and chief operating officer since May 2007.

O'Meara's brother, Robert P. O'Meara, the company's vice chairman since May 2007 who formerly served as the company's chief executive officer for 15 years and chairman for 20 years, was elected chairman.

John O'Meara had led the bank as its chairman and chief executive officer since May 2007, after serving as its president and chief executive officer since January 2003.

"He was part of the core group that guided the formation of what has become First Midwest Bancorp," said Jim Roolf, president of First Midwest Bank in Joliet, and a colleague of O'Meara's since 1982.

Back in 1970, O'Meara had succeeded his father, William O'Meara, in serving as president of Citizen's National Bank of Waukegan. He then joined with 19 suburban banks to form the publicly traded First Midwest Bancorp, with the bulk of the banks located in Lake and Will counties.

Colleagues point to O'Meara's leadership and strong presence in Lake County, as well as that of his brother, Robert O'Meara, who served as chief operating officer at the time, with growing the bank's holdings from $1.3 billion to $8.3 billion with the acquisition of 13 companies.

One of its more recent acquisitions came in 2003 when First Midwest Bancorp acquired CoVest Bank, and its three full-service locations in Des Plaines, Arlington Heights and Schaumburg.

At the time, O'Meara described the purchase as an opportunity to expand the bank's footprint in the Northwest suburbs, and build on its acquisition of the O'Hare Financial Center, completed earlier that same year.

"John was a stalwart in Chicago banking for over 35 years," said Steve Vanderwoude, a member of the company's nominating and corporate governance committee. "He led with vision, principle, empathy and determination, and built First Midwest into one of the top performing regional banks in the nation."

Colleagues within First Midwest pointed to his solid work ethic and family values that helped build the bank's foundation in its local communities.

"Anybody that knows First Midwest knows we strive to be good corporate citizens," Roolf added, "and that was a direct reflection of John and his leadership."

Funeral services were pending on Monday.