Culture & Wellness

Council Members are:

Ambassadors for the organization
Champions of inclusion
Models of our core values
Respected among their peers with a significant sphere of influence
Making a visible commitment to inclusivity
Creating collaborative opportunities and leaning into different perspectives
Leveraging talents, skills and knowledge of the council to foster change
Open to new ideas and ways of thinking
Creators of an environment where others can safely voice different opinions

As part of this vision, we strive to foster a culture and workplace:

That is inclusive and welcoming
Where all Teammates feel respected, embrace differences and care about each other
That promotes diversity of thoughts, ideas, perspectives and values
That is equitable, where all Teammates are treated fairly, and have access to opportunity and advancement
That is committed to hiring the best qualified talent and promoting people on their merits
That provides all Teammates with the resources and training to promote an inclusive work environment
That provides fair and equal employment opportunity and career development practices and policies

Through our activities, we:

Recommend inclusive celebratory observances for the organization
Curate and author enterprise-wide communication and discussions
Host and facilitate inclusive meetings and webinars to address emerging topics
Support Employee Resource Groups as they grow and act as a liaison for internal and external stakeholders
Recommend and champion strategic objectives to support the overall business strategy

Employee Resource Groups

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are voluntary, open to all, employee-led organizations that foster a sense of community, provide support and help meet the unique needs of their members. In 2024, AUB’s ERGs continued to foster community, support Teammates and create meaningful impact.

Throughout the year, our ERGs hosted a variety of events, including networking opportunities, community outreach initiatives and celebrations of culture and service. From honoring veterans and supporting disability awareness to championing leadership growth, our ERGs provide a space for Teammates to connect, learn and make a difference—both within AUB and in the communities we serve.

As of December 2024

Employee Total

2,125 Full-time Teammates

Teammate Experience Advocates

For the past three years, AUB’s Teammate Experience Advocates (TEA) – co–chaired by our CEO and Chief Human Resources Officer – have worked to help enhance the Teammate experience. TEA members have evolved to become intricate participants in three key components of workplace culture:

How we feel at work
The tools we use to get our work done
The physical environment where we work

TEA consists of a cross–functional group of 34 Teammates from all levels across the organization and represents each of our 11 lines of business. TEA members meet monthly and provide valuable feedback on the creation of new enterprise–wide programs to ensure Teammate feedback is captured and reviewed before new programs are launched.

EMerge Program

Sustaining and building on a successful two years, our EMerge Program, an enterprise-wide program focusing on self-development and career exploration, continued with great success. Through EMerge, line of business leaders selected Teammates based on their ability to demonstrate initiative and professional growth. In 2024, 40 Teammates participated in the program which is an investment in the professional development of these Teammates.

Selected Teammates participated in sessions designed to:

Improve their public speaking skills.
Interact with senior leaders in the bank.
Create a compelling personal brand.
Gain insights through assessments.
Broaden their exposure to other lines of business.

Bank School Programs

Established two decades ago to accelerate the professional growth of our Teammates, Bank School continues to grow and make an impact on not only our business, but also the professional development of our Teammates. Lines of Business represented: Credit Administration, Enterprise Services, Wholesale Banking, Wealth Management and Enterprise Technology. We had 30 Teammates participate in the Bank School programs this year with five graduating in 2024.

Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) Executive Banking School (EBS) accelerates the professional growth of the next generation of diverse retail bankers through an immersive, team-based learning experience focusing on finance, risk and strategic leadership.

American Bankers Association (ABA) Stonier Graduate School of Banking Program Goal: To learn to develop strategies to be proactive in today’s competitive marketplace, improve the effectiveness of their internal working relationships and hone skills in key areas of banking. A wide range of elective courses focused on individual leadership styles and skills, and complex managerial and leadership solutions, enable Teammates to meet and personalize their development goals. Lines of Business represented: Credit Administration, Wholesale Banking, Finance, Enterprise Risk Management, Business Banking, Home Loans and Special Assets.

Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University (LSU) Program Goal: To equip bank participants with the knowledge they need to have, the wisdom and expertise that come from perception and insight, and an astute ability to discover, discern and decide. During the resident sessions, banker participants receive approximately 180 hours of classroom instruction. Leadership speakers, evening study sessions, written examinations and bank study projects between resident sessions are an integral part of the School’s comprehensive program. Lines of Business represented: Product Management, Finance and Wholesale Banking.

Virginia Bankers Association (VBA) School of Bank Management Program Goal: To help students develop a range of skills to both enhance current performance and qualify them as candidates for advancement. Lines of Business represented: Enterprise Risk Management, Consumer Banking, Business Banking, Wholesale Banking and Customer Care Center.

North Carolina School of Banking Program Goal: An opportunity to help middle managers and prospective managers expand their skills and abilities through lectures, teamwork and hands-on experience. Lines of Business represented: Wholesale Banking & Financial Investigations.

Workplace Wellness

myWellbeing

We elevate our wellness program through myWellbeing. The myWellbeing Program, powered by Personify Health, offers fun challenges, helpful content, engaging social options and tools to encourage making wellness a priority for all.

Teammates have an opportunity to earn points by taking charge of their health by watching health and wellness videos, staying on track with annual preventive checkups, participating in financial wellness tasks and community service activities, tracking/maintaining good sleep habits, motivating other Teammates and through many other types of wellbeing activities. Activities include both corporate- and participant-sponsored healthy habit challenges, step challenges and journeys. Corporate-sponsored step challenges allow participants to convert their daily activities into steps should Teammates have mobility issues. In 2024, Teammates logged enough steps to walk around the earth 5.5 times!

The points earned are converted to Rewards Cash that can be redeemed for major retailer gift cards or merchandise in the Personify Health store. In 2024, $769,100 in rewards were paid out through Personify Health.

Caution Regarding Forward–Looking Statements

This report contains certain forward–looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain plans, expectations, goals, projections, and statements, which are not historical facts and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. Statements that do not describe historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward–looking statements. Forward–looking statements may be identified by words such as “expect,” “seek to,” “strive to,” “anticipate,” “vision,” “committed,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “target,” “goal,” or similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as will, may, might, should, would, could, or similar variations. The forward–looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While there is no assurance that any list of risks and uncertainties or risk factors is complete, below are certain factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in the forward–looking statements: changes in general economic, political, or industry conditions particularly in the markets in which we operate and which our loans are concentrated, including the effects of declines in real estate values, an increase in unemployment levels and slowdowns in economic growth; changes in market interest rates and their related impact on macroeconomic conditions, customer and client behavior, our funding costs, and our loan and securities portfolio; volatility and disruptions in capital and credit markets; inflation and its impact on economic growth and customer and client behavior; competitive pressures on product pricing and services; success, impact, and timing of our business strategies; the nature, extent, timing, and results of governmental actions, examinations, reviews, reforms, regulations, and interpretations; potential claims, damages, and fines related to litigation or government actions; cybersecurity risks and the vulnerability of our network and online banking portals, and the systems of parties with whom we contract, to unauthorized access, computer viruses, phishing schemes, spam attacks, human error, and other security breaches that could adversely affect or disrupt our business and financial performance or reputation; and the adverse effects of events beyond our control that may have a destabilizing effect on financial markets and the economy, such as epidemics and pandemics, war or terrorist activities, essential utility outages, deterioration in the global economy, instability in the credit markets, disruptions in our customers’ supply chains or disruption in transportation. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report on Form 10–K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and in our subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, which are on file with the SEC and available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. All forward–looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and are based on information available at that time. We do not assume any obligation to update forward–looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward–looking statements were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by federal securities laws. As forward–looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, caution should be exercised against placing undue reliance on such statements.