Management Team

Ernie Hwang serves as a member of the Board of Directors for both the Bancorp and the Bank and has been the President and CEO of each since their formations. He is an experienced community banker with over 36 years of commercial banking expertise, with a particular focus on specialized lending areas including ABL, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Healthcare, and Municipal/Corporate Syndications. Before joining Icon, Mr. Hwang served in multiple senior executive roles at Pacific Premier Bank, most recently as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer, managing the bank's International Banking group and Marketing department and serving as a member of the Loan and Deposit Pricing Committee. He joined Pacific Premier Bank due to its acquisition of Security Bank of California, where he had been founding Director, Vice Chair, and Chief Lending Officer. He also served as the Director and President of its holding company, Security California Bancorp. His responsibilities included overseeing the bank’s financial operations, commercial lending, deposit portfolio, credit management, IT, and CRA, as well as managing Security Asset Management, Inc., a subsidiary tasked with the disposition of criticized assets. He actively participated in all of the organization’s standing board and executive management committees, demonstrating strong leadership in the Asset Liability and Credit Committees. Prior to that, Mr. Hwang served as Senior Vice President and Manager of City National Bank's (RBC) Ontario Commercial Banking Center, as well as Credit and Audit Examiner at Bank of California/Mitsubishi Bank.

Mr. Hwang earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Loma Linda University and graduated from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington. Additionally, he completed the Executive Management Program at the University of California Riverside.

Philippe Masbanji serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Bancorp and the Bank. He has over 31 years of experience working with national and community banks throughout California, most recently as the Chief Financial Officer at Bank of Santa Clarita, seeing the bank through its acquisition by Bank of Southern California. Prior to that, he was the Chief Financial Officer of EH National Bank from 2013 through 2019, and was the EVP, Controller of Countrywide Bank from 2003 through 2009. Mr. Masbanji began his career in public accounting at KPMG LLP where he focused on the financial services sector. He also taught accounting courses at UCLA Extension from 2012 through 2020.

Khoi Dang serves as the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of both the Bancorp and the Bank, as well has heading their respective risk and compliance functions. He is a seasoned legal advisor, with over 21 years of experience representing community banks and their holding companies in the areas of operations, regulatory, compliance, corporate finance, SEC compliance, and M&A. Prior to Icon Business Bank, he was the EVP/Chief Legal Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, and Corporate Secretary for Southern California Bancorp and its subsidiary, Bank of Southern California, N.A., where he implemented corporate governance ahead of the organization’s Nasdaq uplisting. Prior to that, Mr. Dang contributed to the IPO of First Choice Bancorp and First Choice Bank, where he served as EVP/Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, while also facilitating over $400 million in SBA PPP loans during the pandemic. Previously, as a partner in the Corporate and Banking Practice Group at Duane Morris, LLP, and as a partner with the boutique banking law firm of Horgan, Rosen, Beckham & Coren, LLP, Mr. Dang led over $10 billion in financial institution M&A deals, providing legal counsel to community and regional banks throughout the Western United States.  

Active in the community, Mr. Dang has served on the American Bankers Association’s DEI Advisory Board and the Vietnamese American Bar Association. He also previously served as a board member of Sugarmade on various committees, as well as for CBB Bancorp/Commonwealth Business Bank.

LaRonda Fisher-Rogers serves as the Bank’s Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer. She is a seasoned banking professional with over 36 years of experience, with particular focus on the areas of credit management, portfolio management, and business development in both traditional and niche sectors. Prior to Icon, Ms. Fisher-Rogers was most recently the Director and Senior Vice President of the Commercial Banking Group at MUFG Union Bank, where she managed the San Gabriel Valley Office, focusing on business development and portfolio management in the Middle Market Banking Group. Previously, she worked at City National Bank as a Senior Regional Credit Manager, overseeing credit risk and guiding deal structuring and loan documentation processes, as well as contributing to the bank's healthcare initiatives and co-authoring its Health Care Certification Program. Prior to that, Ms. Fisher-Rogers had roles at Manufacturers Bank and Bank of America, focusing on business development, deal structuring, and syndicated lending; at Union Federal Bank, overseeing risk management and corporate policy development; at Equibank, managing commercial credit administration; and at Bank of California and Security Pacific Bank, gaining experience in credit administration and portfolio management.