Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Announces New Hire, Austen Carroll, to Lead Commercial Banking; Julie Kleffel Promoted to Chief Banking Officer
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ: SBCF) appointed Austen Carroll as executive vice president and chief lending officer, focusing on enhancing its commercial banking division. Julie Kleffel has been promoted to chief banking officer. Carroll, with nearly 20 years of banking experience, previously led commercial banking at Ameris Bank. Kleffel has been integral to Seacoast's growth post-merger with BankFirst. As of March 31, 2020, Seacoast reported approximately $7.4 billion in assets and $5.9 billion in deposits.
- Appointment of Austen Carroll as chief lending officer expected to drive growth in commercial banking.
- Julie Kleffel's promotion indicates strong internal leadership development and continuity.
- None.
STUART, Fla., July 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ: SBCF) (the “Company” or “Seacoast”) today announced it has hired Austen Carroll as executive vice president and chief lending officer. In his newly-created role, Carroll will lead the commercial banking division at Seacoast. Additionally, Julie Kleffel, the Company’s current community banking executive and central Florida market president has been promoted to chief banking officer of the Company.
“Austen is a well-known and highly-regarded banker in the Southeast. He has demonstrated tremendous success in his prior roles and will help accelerate the progression of our commercial banking business. We see great opportunity ahead and are thrilled to bring on board a leader with Austen’s talent and experience,” said Chuck Shaffer, president, and chief operating officer of Seacoast.
Shaffer added, “Julie has been a key driver of Seacoast’s balanced growth strategy, delivering growth in new client acquisition, and enhancing client satisfaction in multiple areas across the enterprise. We are excited to expand her leadership role within the organization.”
Before joining Seacoast, Carroll served as chief banking officer for Ameris Bank where he led commercial banking in the Southeast, and was based in Jacksonville, Florida. During his tenure at Ameris Bank, he held a diverse set of roles, significantly contributing to talent acquisition and robust organic growth. He has almost 20 years of total banking industry experience. Carroll has a bachelor of business administration degree in finance from Valdosta State University and is a graduate of the Louisiana State University Graduate School of Banking.
Kleffel joined the Company following Seacoast’s merger with BankFirst in 2014. She has held numerous roles for Seacoast, including leading small business banking, retail banking, and, most recently, served as community banking executive and central Florida market president. Kleffel is a graduate of the ABA National and Graduate Commercial Lending Schools. She completed her professional education by graduating with distinction from the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009.
About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ: SBCF)
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida is one of the largest community banks headquartered in Florida, with approximately
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This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning, and protections, of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including, without limitation, statements about future financial and operating results, as well as statements with respect to Seacoast's leadership team and board of directors, objectives, strategic plans, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical facts, any of which may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and related effects on the U.S. economy. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
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Given the many unknowns and risks being heavily weighted to the downside, our forward-looking statements are subject to the risk that conditions will be substantially different than we are currently expecting. If efforts to contain COVID-19 are unsuccessful and restrictions on movement last into the third quarter or beyond, the recession would be much longer and much more severe. Ineffective fiscal stimulus, or an extended delay in implementing it, are also major downside risks. The deeper the recession is, and the longer it lasts, the more it will damage consumer fundamentals and sentiment. This could both prolong the recession, and/or make any recovery weaker. Similarly, the recession could damage business fundamentals. And an extended global recession due to COVID-19 would weaken the U.S. recovery. As a result, the outbreak and its consequences, including responsive measures to manage it, have had and are likely to continue to have an adverse effect, possibly materially, on our business and financial performance by adversely affecting, possibly materially, the demand and profitability of our products and services, the valuation of assets and our ability to meet the needs of our customers.
All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice, including, without limitation, those risks and uncertainties described in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, under "Special Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-looking Statements" and "Risk Factors", and otherwise in our SEC reports and filings. Such reports are available upon request from the Company, or from the Securities and Exchange Commission, including through the SEC's Internet website at www.sec.gov.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Reissman
772-463-8947
Jennifer.Reissman@seacoastbank.com
FAQ
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