CRB Group, Inc., the parent company of Cross River Bank, announced Tuesday that financial industry veteran Evan Russo has been appointed president, effective Oct. 1.
Russo, who previously served as chief executive officer of Lazard Asset Management and chief financial officer of Lazard Ltd., transitions into the executive leadership role after serving as Cross River’s lead independent director since April 2026. He will report directly to Cross River Founder, CEO, and Chairman Gilles Gade while retaining his seat on the company’s Board of Directors.
With Russo stepping into the presidency, Shimshon Gross—a board member since Cross River’s founding in 2008—has been named the new Lead Independent Director.
In his role as President, Russo will partner with Gade to scale Cross River’s market position as a premier, regulated financial infrastructure platform powering real-time payments, embedded banking, digital assets, and AI-driven financial services.
Russo will oversee global expansion efforts while refining the firm’s operational, financial, and governance frameworks to support its next growth trajectory.
“Technology is revolutionizing how money moves around the globe, but it still moves through regulated infrastructure, which requires leaders who have built and led significant global financial institutions,” Gilles Gade, founder, CEO and chairman of Cross River, said. “Evan and I will bring complementary strengths to the path ahead. I will continue to focus on our vision for the future of financial infrastructure, our technology, and strategic partnerships, while Evan brings the institutional leadership, strategic focus and operating discipline required to scale that vision.”
Russo brings over two decades of capital markets, investment banking, asset management, and legal experience to Cross River. During his tenure at Lazard, he led global asset management operations, served as CFO for Lazard Ltd. and Lazard Group, and co-headed the firm’s Capital Markets and Capital Structure Advisory practice.
Prior to Lazard, Russo held investment banking positions at Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital, beginning his career as a corporate attorney at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. He holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from Columbia Law School, and a B.A. from Queens College.
“Cross River has built something unique: a technology-driven financial infrastructure platform built on a regulated banking foundation, with the connectivity and capabilities to support the next generation of financial solutions,” Evan Russo, president of Cross River, said. “As financial activity becomes increasingly programmable, global and AI-enabled, the importance of trusted, scalable and regulated infrastructure will only increase. Cross River is exceptionally well-positioned at the intersection of these powerful trends.”
Executive transition summary
| Feature | Details |
| Appointees | Evan L. Russo (President); Shimshon Gross (Lead Independent Director) |
| Company | CRB Group, Inc. / Cross River Bank |
| Effective Date | October 1, 2026 |
| Headquarters | Fort Lee, New Jersey |
| Prior Experience (Russo) | CEO, Lazard Asset Management; CFO, Lazard Ltd.; Goldman Sachs; Barclays |
| Strategic Focus | Operational scaling, global expansion, real-time embedded payments, AI & digital assets |
