Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff (Nasdaq: SFNC) on Tuesday announced that George Makris Jr., the company’s executive chair, will return to the role of CEO effective Jan. 1.
Current CEO Bob Fehlman is retiring to focus on personal interests and family medical issues, the company said in a news release. He will assume an advisory role in the first quarter of 2025.
Fehlman has worked for Simmons for more than 36 years. He became CEO in 2023 after holding a variety of leadership roles, including controller, CFO, treasurer, chief operating officer and president.
Makris, who served as chair and CEO from 2014 through 2022, said in a statement, “Bob has been a tremendous asset to the bank for many years, and we wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement. Bob has played a significant role in the expansion of the bank and has been a leader of our better bank initiative as CEO.”
Simmons also announced that Chris Van Steenberg has joined the company as chief operating officer. Van Steenberg has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently as executive vice president, chief digital and product officer for First Horizon Bank of Memphis. In that role, he was responsible for all aspects of the bank’s treasury management, consumer and small business digital, consumer and small business product management, contact center banking, product and portfolio pricing, as well as risk and fraud prevention.
Jay Brodgon, president of Simmons, said Van Steenberg has a “proven track record” in leading retail banking and commercial treasury management teams. “We’re excited to see the impact Chris will have on furthering our better bank initiative, while also supporting our efforts to drive sound, profitable growth and positive operating leverage,” he said. Simmons’ better bank initiative focuses on improving the client experience and boosting efficiency through refined processes and systems, tools and technology upgrades and employee training.
Van Steenberg holds a bachelor’s in marketing management from the University of Alabama and a master’s in business administration from the Manchester Business School in Manchester, England.
He also completed the Royal Bank of Scotland Business School through the Wharton School, Entrepreneurial Leadership & Influence program at Babson College, and the Consumer Bankers Association Graduate School of Retail Bank Management.
Simmons in October reported falling third-quarter profits as it offloaded available-for-sale investment securities for a loss. Net income was $24.7 million, down 47.7% from $47.2 million a year ago. Fehlman said the bank sold certain lower-yielding bonds to “hasten the pace of our ongoing balance sheet optimization strategy.”
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