John Ward
Executive Vice President &
Chief Marketing & Product Officer
John is Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing & Product Officer at American Savings Bank (ASB), where he leads the bank’s digital transformation and marketing strategy. He oversees the development of best-in-class platforms that make banking easy and convenient, including a modernized website, mobile and online banking tools and contactless charge cards.
With more than 35 years of experience in marketing, business development and product management across financial services and technology, John has held executive roles at iQuanti Inc., Sallie Mae and First Union National Bank. He also served as Chief Marketing Officer and President of Upromise - helping millions of families save for college - and as Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President at IDT Corp.
Under his leadership, ASB has ranked No. 1 among local banks for ease of use in online and mobile banking and has been named a Forbes Best-in-State Bank for six years, driven by customer satisfaction and digital experience.
John is also a champion for community and economic development in Hawaii. He oversees ASB’s Buy Local Program, which launched in 2021 and supports over 100 merchants across four islands. A longtime supporter of Hawaii’s restaurant industry, John led ASB’s efforts with the State of Hawaii to launch the Hawaii Restaurant Card Business Holiday Card program, delivering more than $75 million in relief to the local food industry. He currently serves on the board of the Hawaii Restaurant Association.
A strong advocate for leadership development, John is passionate about mentoring the next generation of professionals, particularly in advancing STEM careers and women leaders. He has led career development initiatives and serves as an executive mentor for the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii’s Young Professionals Mentor Hawaii program.
John holds an engineering degree from the University of Nebraska and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.