Longtime Vail Valley FirstBank boss retires
Ellen Moritz worked 31 years at the bank
Special to the Daily
FirstBank, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks, recently announced that Eagle County Market President Ellen Moritz has retired after more than 31 years at FirstBank. The merged Summit and Eagle County markets, following Moritz’s retirement, will be led by Nick Brinkman.
Moritz began her career with FirstBank when she moved to Colorado in 1990 to work at the Avon branch before spending time at the bank’s branches in Vail and Edwards. In June 2011, she was named president of the FirstBank branches in Avon, Edwards and Eagle, and in March 2013, her responsibilities were expanded to include FirstBank’s branches in Vail. She will continue to serve on the boards of various community organizations, including Walking Mountains Science Center, the Vail Valley Foundation, Vail Health and Catholic Charities.
“When I began my career in banking, I didn’t expect to feel as fully embedded in the community as I have at FirstBank,” Moritz said. “The way we’ve been able to give back to Eagle County through our work with local organizations will always stand out as I look back on this chapter of my career. It’s been an honor to serve this community through FirstBank, and I look forward to what the future holds.”
Brinkman, who has been with FirstBank since 2001, began his expanded role March 1. He has previously served as the executive vice president in Vail and was promoted to president of the Summit County Market in 2017. In addition to supporting community organizations in Eagle County, Brinkman will continue in his roles as a board member for several local organizations and as secretary at the Summit Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring people and mobilizing resources to improve and enrich the lives of individuals in Summit County and neighboring communities.
“Nick has been an integral part of FirstBank’s growth in the mountain markets over the last two decades,” said FirstBank’s new president, Kevin Classen. “Under his leadership, the bank has not only seen exponential growth, but more importantly Nick has forged strong relationships with local businesses and kept community impact at the center of his decisions. There’s no one better equipped to lead our extremely talented teams in Eagle and Summit County.”
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