City National Bank Vice Chairman of Entertainment Banking to Retire

Veteran banker Martha Henderson to step down after 40 years of service to the entertainment industry

LOS ANGELES — City National Bank today announced that Martha Henderson, vice chairman of Entertainment Banking, will retire on Feb. 2, 2024. 

“Since our founding in 1954, City National has had an unparalleled history of support for the entertainment industry, which is personified by Martha Henderson,” said Kelly Coffey, CEO City National Entertainment. “Martha is an institution at City National and I am grateful for her extraordinary service – her decades of leadership and the profound impact she has had are felt throughout the organization.”

Henderson is stepping down from her role after 40 years at the bank. She joined City National in 1983 from Wells Fargo, where she launched her career in its private bank unit serving the entertainment industry. When she joined City National, Henderson was just one of 16 colleagues on the bank’s Entertainment Banking team. She was made head of the business in 1989. Under her leadership, City National’s team serving the entertainment industry now provides financial expertise to more than 90% of entertainment business managers, more than half of all Broadway shows, more than 80% of the country music industry in Nashville, and some of the biggest names in the sports and Latin entertainment industries. She led the strategic expansion of Entertainment Banking into New York, as well as the opening of the bank’s first offices in Atlanta and on Music Row in Nashville in 2011, and most recently, in Miami in 2019. (City National operates in the state of Florida as CN Bank.)

“Martha leaves a legacy of City National leaders poised to move the business and industry forward thanks to her long-standing commitment to colleague development and client-focus,” said Howard Hammond, CEO, City National Bank. “As she prepared for retirement over the last several years, Martha invested herself in ensuring the continuing Entertainment Banking leadership team is well prepared to support our clients. Those leaders include JaHan Wang, executive vice president of Entertainment Banking – we are fortunate to continue to benefit from his deep experience.”

“I deeply appreciate my decades-long career at City National, and the meaningful and rewarding relationships I have built here and across the entertainment industry,” said Henderson. “Among the career highlights I am most proud of is the opportunity I had to grow and develop the next generation of leadership at the bank to continue our focus on serving clients. I’m confident City National’s unwavering dedication to the industry will only grow.”

Henderson’s hallmark as a trusted supporter to some of the biggest names in Hollywood, coupled with her long and noteworthy career, has made her widely recognized as one of the most powerful executives in the entertainment industry. Billboard named her to its Power list in 2023 and 2022, and the publication recognized her in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 in its “Women in Music” list of the most powerful women in the music industry. In 2016, 2019 and 2020, Variety named Henderson in its “Women’s Impact Report” as one of the most important women in Hollywood. Additionally, Barron’s profiled her as the most powerful banker in Hollywood in 2017.

With a legacy extending beyond City National, Henderson is a long-time supporter of Project Angel Food, where she is a member of its Circle of Angels. She serves on the boards of the Friends of Saban Community Clinic and the Geffen Playhouse, for which she was previously a co-chair. She also volunteers her time to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles.