Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. announced the planned transition of Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Robert Atwell. Effective January 1, 2024, Atwell will step down as Executive Chairman of the Board but will remain as a current director. The board is expected to elect current President and CEO Mike Daniels Chairman of the Board at that time.

Atwell and Daniels co-founded Nicolet in November 2000, growing it from a de novo start-up bank to the second-largest bank headquartered in Wisconsin. Under their leadership, Nicolet grew from a single location with no assets to one of the Upper Midwest's predominant community bank franchises with 56 branches with over 1,000 employees, and $8.5 billion in assets. Atwell served as Nicolet's Chairman, President, and CEO until April 2021, when he was appointed Executive Chairman.

He has served as Chairman of the Board for more than 23 years since Nicolet's inception.