Who We Are

Harper McNeil was founded in 1995. Our vision remains to provide superior insight for client financial institutions as they select and integrate the best technology to meet their operational needs. Whether our clients are looking for core solutions, or any type of ancillary software, we are here to provide our expertise and knowledge throughout the entire process.

We invite you to read more about our team below, and explore the education, experience, and skills we bring to each and every client service.

Denise McNeil

President

Denise has worked with many financial institutions and learned from their custom approaches to technology design, giving her an incredible proficiency in the subject. This experience reflects the depth of knowledge needed to push forward a workable decision with each engagement. During 2022, Denise was elected to the board of directors at Bank of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, NC.

Financial institutions are challenged with finding value in their purchase of products and services. It has always been our driven goal to make that process easier and increase comprehension. Therefore, since our company’s inception in 1995, the Harper McNeil team have developed innovative methods for the process of system search and conversion.

Denise graduated from Appalachian State University with a BSBA in Accounting in 1988. Within weeks, she began a career as a community bank internal auditor. It was a unique opportunity to train in every department in the bank before moving forward in an audit. During this time as an internal auditor, she worked with management to select and secure a new core system, and proceeded through the conversion.

Harper McNeil has worked with hundreds of financial institutions over the years. The uniqueness of our company dynamics is that we understand banking in depth. Therefore, we can work with each financial institution to help them promote their company through technology. The technology vendors appreciate this talent as well. Many times, we are there to assist with assuring there is complete understanding between the financial institution and the vendor. Everyone in our company has spent the beginning of their career in a financial institution operations area.

Denise and her family are members of First Baptist Church. Now that her children are grown, there is a little more time to devote to personal interests like outdoor activities and travel. Denise enjoys being active in financial institution FinTech. She also promotes the Entrepreneur program at Appalachian State University through teaching and programs. While at Harper McNeil, the independent banking groups have been priority events to attend, and occasionally she will write material and speak at their conferences.

Lisa Armbrister

Senior Support Manager

Technology additions over the past few years have infiltrated the financial industry’s focus in order to provide needed services to customers. Lisa has been in the inner circle of operations for her entire career, alongside bankers and vendors’ analysts. She interprets software applications and applies banking knowledge to drive complete and full usage of each purchase. This knowledge is then relayed to the entire company at Harper McNeil, which in turn gives a financial institution more power in understanding what is being considered in a new technology contract.

Lisa joined Harper McNeil in January of 2001. With a total of 40+ years of banking and systems experience, Lisa specializes in deposit and finance applications in a variety of technology systems, working with more than three dozen different core systems to date. Her expertise extends to other aspects of banking, including customer facing areas such as teller and new account opening, and areas related to electronic banking. Her broad project management skills and attention to detail make her a valuable asset to Harper McNeil.

Before joining Harper McNeil, Lisa worked with banks in Virginia and Ohio in various positions from Teller and Deposit Operations to IT Support for Loan Operations and Finance. The depth and breadth of Lisa’s experiences in banking and consulting have provided her with the skills and know-how to effectively guide clients through the accurate and timely conversion of their core processing systems for deposit and finance applications as well as ancillary systems related to those areas. In addition to her work with core conversions, Lisa also assists community banks in improving their efficiency and effectiveness with thorough analyses of their Deposit Operations and General Ledger functions, including financial chart of account restructuring and General Ledger conversions not related to a core conversion.

Lisa completed her undergraduate studies at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, earning a BSBA in Business Management with a Computer Science concentration. She resides in Wytheville, Virginia, with her husband and two sons, where she is a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church. Lisa has volunteered in numerous capacities over the past 40 years in the churches she’s attended, has been involved in the Parent Teacher Organizations of her children’s schools, and has supported various civic organizations. She enjoys gardening, reading, traveling, and following the activities of her sons.

Brian Lewis

Support Manager

Brian joined Harper McNeil Inc. in September of 2016. With over 15 years of banking and process improvement experience, Brian specializes in lending, document management, workflow development, and project management. His expertise also includes Deposit Operations, Human Resources, Accounts Payable, Compliance, Special Assets, and vendor liaison / system administrator for several lending software solutions.

Before joining Harper McNeil, Brian started Stingray Consulting Group which works with Banks, Credit Unions, and non-profit organizations to identify and implement efficiency opportunities throughout their respective organizations.

Prior to starting Stingray Consulting Group, Brian held various Banking positions that ranged from Teller to Customer Service Representative to Branch Manager, and eventually to Commercial Loan Officer. After being a productive Branch Manager and Commercial Loan Officer, Brian started identifying efficiency gaps within the branch operation processes as well as the loan process and he turned his attention and focus on process improvement and efficiency implementation for the entire organization.

Brian received his associates degree from Davidson County Community College in accounting as well as completed the North Carolina School of Banking program at the University of North Carolina. He resides in Linwood, North Carolina with his wife and two children where they are members of Jersey Baptist Church. Brian holds various chairman positions as it relates to the financial needs of the Church as well as Vacation Bible School Director, leader of several community outreach programs, youth fund raising efforts, and is also a Wish granter for the Central and Western North Carolina Make-A-Wish chapter. He enjoys camping with his family and restoring old Ford Broncos with his son.

Kim Cooke

Senior Support Manager

Operations and technology proficiency in banking are crucial to a successful business technology plan. In-depth knowledge of the vendors that provide the technology is important to the success of any technology plan.

Kim joined Harper McNeil in April of 2023. With a total of 30+ years of banking and systems experience. She brings excellent bank operations and vendor knowledge regarding financial institution technology

Before joining Harper McNeil, Kim worked with community banks and regional banks in various positions ranging from Loan Operations Manager, Bank Operations Manager, Chief Information Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Chief Compliance & Operations Officer.

In these various roles, Kim gained valuable experience in Deposit & Loan Operations, Lending &, Deposit Platforms, Card Services/ATMs, Online & Mobile Banking, Cash Management Services, Compliance, Information Security, Information Technology and Operational Risk. She has coordinated the integration and systems conversions for various bank acquisitions and core system conversions.

Kim completed her Masters of Business Administration and Bachelor of Business Administration from Gardner Webb University. She resides in Lincolnton, North Carolina with her husband and daughter. Kim has volunteered in various capacities with her daughter’s school and has supported various civic organizations. She and her daughter are members of the Helping Animals To Survive (HATS) organization and enjoy volunteering with dog adoption events. Kim enjoys the companionship of her dogs, spending time at the beach, reading, traveling with family and friends, and following the activities of her daughter.