David Cameron, Aaron Cohen and Nedda Ismaili Named Leaders of Influence

Recognition honors top banking executives in LA.

David Cameron, executive vice president of Personal & Business Banking, Aaron Cohen, executive vice president of Commercial & Corporate Banking, and Nedda Ismaili, Commercial Real Estate team leader were named to the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2023 Leaders of Influence in Banking list.

This is the first time all three colleagues have been recognized on this new list which honors top bank executives in LA and will be published annually. LABJ selected Cameron, Cohenand Ismaili for their exceptional leadership, knowledge, and achievements in banking and for their contributions to the LA business community.

David Cameron

Cameron was promoted this past January to executive vice president of Personal & Business Banking where he is responsible for overseeing the bank's support of individuals, organizations, and small to midsize businesses with annual revenues under $40 million. Under his leadership, City National became one of the top lenders in the country for Small Business Administration 504 loans, which help small businesses purchase and refinance their own buildings.

Active in the community, Cameron sits on the board of the Pacific Coast Banking School (PCBS) and the Aquarium of the Pacific. He is also a member of the aquarium's Strategy and Implementation Committee.  

Click here to read Cameron's profile.
 

Aaron Cohen

After a distinguished 27-year career at City National, Cohen was appointed in March to a newly created position as the leader of the Commercial & Corporate Banking Division. This division encompasses all of the bank's commercial lines of business: Commercial Banking, National Corporate Banking, Commercial Real Estate Banking, and Specialty Banking. With this promotion, Cohen also joined the bank's most senior leadership team, its Strategy & Planning Committee (S&P).

Cohen is active within City National and in the local community. He was recently tapped to join the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. He also serves as an executive sponsor of two of the bank's colleague resource groups, which are the bank's Asian American Network and the Women's Network since 2019.

Cohen is also co-chair of the Finance and Business Professional Network for the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. He also serves on the board of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles, where he serves as treasurer, and he is an advisory board member with the Los Angeles chapter of Facing History and Ourselves.

"Congratulations to David and Aaron," said Rich Raffetto, president of City National. "This is a well-deserved recognition of their leadership, accomplishments and responsibilities."

Click here to read Cohen's profile.
 

Nedda Ismaili

Ismaili is a Commercial Real Estate team leader and is responsible for a $2.5 billion portfolio of market rate commercial real estate loans.  She joined the bank in 2010. As an Angeleno, she felt personally compelled to "lean in" and get involved with the homeless and affordable housing crisis.  Most recently, Ismaili's team provided financing to enable the nonprofit organization, A Community of Friends (ACOF), construction of 17 studios and 30 one-bedroom units in Huntington Park, a suburb of LA. It is expected to be complete by late 2024 and will be rented to homeless senior veterans and general low-income senior households earning 30-60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). ACOF and the US Veterans Administration will also offer on-site supportive services to the residents. 

Ismaili is on the board of Holos Communities, an affordable housing developer in LA, as well as a member of its audit committee. She also serves on the Project Review Committee of the United Way's affordable housing initiative and is a member of the United Way Greater LA's Funders Collaborative which focuses on permanent housing initiatives.  She also serves on City National's Community Reinvestment Act's Investment Committee. 

"Nedda has spearheaded growing our affordable housing platform over the past few years and this recognition highlights her success in this area," said Lindsay Dunn, executive vice president of Commercial Real Estate Banking. "I applaud her hard work and dedication that have paid off in a big way."

Click here to read Ismaili's profile.