Michael E. Schrage stepped aside from his role as CEO of Centier Bank, Merrillville, in February after 53 years of service to the bank.
He joined the bank in 1972 when it was known as Bank of Whiting, eventually being elected chairman of the board in 1982. Under his leadership, Centier became the largest private, family-owned bank in Indiana.
Schrage has served numerous community organizations including the Northwest Indiana Symphony, St. Jude House, American Red Cross, YMCA and the Calumet Council Boy Scouts. He is an alumnus of Culver Academy, earned his bachelor’s degree from Denison University and a master’s from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
He was named a Sagamore of the Wabash in 1995, a member of the 2023 class of IBA Leaders in Banking Excellence and a member of the IBA 40 Year Club.
Schrage’s son-in-law and current president of the bank, Chris Campbell, assumed Schrage’s responsibilities immediately, marking the formal transition to the fifth generation of Schrage family leadership of the bank.
