Five Star Bank HR Leader Built Strategy From Operational Roots

Lisa Perillo brought banking operations experience into HR to shape people-first strategies.

HR Solution Journal News Desk

Editorial illustration: A painterly oil illustration showing a large mature tree with a bank vault door and hexagonal wooden framework embedded in its trunk beside a smaller sapling whose leaves are shaped like open human hands, both trees sharing a glowing network of intertwined golden roots beneath a cross-sectioned earth layer, set against a teal sky over a pastoral landscape.

AI-generated editorial illustration.

Lisa Perillo, SVP and Director of Employee Engagement at Five Star Bank, took an unconventional route into HR, drawing on years of operational banking experience before leading the bank's full HR function. Overseeing recruitment, benefits, learning and development, and employee relations, Perillo credits her business-side background with helping her build programs that connect workforce strategy to organizational goals. She contends that HR teams gain credibility by engaging directly in business operations and demonstrating genuine investment in employee growth. Looking ahead, she expects HR to evolve away from administrative tasks toward a strategic role in talent development and navigating workforce shifts tied to AI adoption.

Source: HR Daily Advisor. Original announcement: October 08, 2026.