New Year, New Leaders: Appointments Update

BCB Bancorp — New Jersey-headquartered BCB Bancorp, parent company to BCB Community Bank, has appointed Michael Shriner as its new president and CEO, effective from January 1.

Shriner replaces Thomas Coughlin, who is retiring from these roles but will continue to serve on the bank’s board of directors.

With a 35-year banking career, Shriner was previously CEO of MSB Financial Corp and Millington Bank, successfully leading its conversion to a fully public institution before its acquisition by Kearny Bank in 2019.

BayFirst National Bank — The Florida bank also has new senior leaders for 2024. Thomas Zernick is BayFirst’s new CEO, while Robin Oliver has been named president. Both appointments were effective from January 1.

Zernick replaces Anthony Leo, who remains as a director on the board and will also work as a part-time consultant on “strategic matters”, BayFirst said in a statement.

After joining BayFirst in 2016, Zernick has led the bank’s CreditBench Division, responsible for facilitating government-guaranteed small business lending. He has been president since 2022, and a director and board member since 2023.

Oliver takes over as president having been BayFirst’s chief operating officer since 2022. He first joined the bank in 2018.

Western Alliance Bank — Lynne Biggio Herndon is the Arizona-based bank’s new chief credit officer, Western Alliance announced this week. She replaces Tim Bruckner, who is transitioning to chief banking officer for regional banking.

Herndon joins from PNC Bank where she was West Region commercial credit executive. She has also worked for BBVA and Regions Bank in senior credit-related positions.

President and CEO Ken Vecchione said the appointment “completes the organizational changes we first announced in 2022”.

1^st Capital Bank — California-based 1^st Capital Bank has appointed Joel Keller as chief financial officer and executive vice president. He joins from Liberty Bank where he was also CFO.

CEO Samuel Jiminez said Keller brought “tremendous experience and will be a valuable contributor in guiding our company forward”.

Separately, the bank has also appointed Laura Zehm to its board of directors. Zehm was previously chief administration officer and CFO of healthcare nonprofit Montage Health.

Community Trust Bank — Nicholas Antimisiaris has been promoted to vice president and corporate information security, resilience and data officer at Kentucky-based Community Trust Bank. He has worked for the bank for five years with responsibility for business continuity and project management.

He has worked in a variety of technology and data roles for companies in the US and in Greece.