JOHN LEWIS

President/CEO

Harbor Bankshares Corporation

John Lewis serves as President and CEO of Harbor Bankshares Corporation and its principal banking subsidiary, The Harbor Bank of Maryland. He assumed the CEO role on April 6, 2023, at the Baltimore, Maryland-based Minority Depository Institution and Community Development Financial Institution, leading banking and investment activities through its subsidiaries and affiliates.

Lewis held various positions in the Global Wealth and Investment Management Division of Merrill Lynch, including Chief Financial Officer for Bank Product Distribution in the Global Banking Group. He previously worked as a banker at Credit Suisse First Boston.

He serves as Trustee and Investment Committee Chairman of the Maryland Teachers and State Employees Supplemental Retirement Plans and the Severn School. He formerly served as Vice Chairman of Baltimore City Community College, a designated Minority Serving Institution. Lewis is a member of the Young President’s Organization and the Real Estate Executive Council.

Lewis completed executive training programs at M&T Bank and Fleet Bank. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University as an INROADS Scholar and an MBA from Harvard Business School as a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow.

What advice would you offer someone interested in banking and finance as a career?

Stay curious, master the fundamentals and history of the banking industry, read broadly to better understand the customers and markets you serve, and engage directly with the people in those markets to build insight and authentic connection.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry?

Success in our industry is based upon the proper selection, measurement, and pricing of risk. We are in a period in which both the nature and the pace of those risks may be changing. There is also a generational shift in the way technology is used and in evolving customer preferences.

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This profile is part of The Daily Record’s Banking & Financial Services Power List for 2025. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. See the full list at thedailyrecord.com.