CU Bancorp and its wholly owned subsidiary California United Bank has appointed Robert Sjogren to the newly created position of executive vice president and chief risk officer for the company and the bank. In this role, Sjogren is responsible for overseeing the company’s risk management function and regulatory compliance, including relationships with key regulators.

Sjorgen previously was chief operating officer of Pacific Mercantile Bancorp, a position he was promoted to in September 2014, after being hired as general counsel in November 2013. Prior to that, from 2005 to 2013 he served in various roles at Carpenter & Company, a private equity firm that invests in community banks; these roles included general counsel, corporate secretary and chief risk officer.

From 1998 to 2004, Sjogren was an associate attorney at Nixon Peabody, where he provided regulatory, transactional and general corporate advice to banks and bank holding companies. Sjogren began his career in 1988 at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, where he was a team leader and senior examiner responsible for evaluating the overall safety and soundness of Southern California banks.