THOMPSON FAMILY DEEPENS COUNTRY CLUB BANK’S KC ROOTS: JOE CLOSE NAMED PRESIDENT
KANSAS CITY, MO – Country Club Bank Chairman and CEO Paul Thompson has announced that Joe Close has been elected President of the Bank ”in alignment with our family’s ongoing strategic growth plan, as well as our desire to further cement the Bank’s roots in Kansas City.”
Thompson has served as President and CEO since 2003, and assumed the additional responsibility of Chairman four years ago, after the passing of his father, Byron.
“Our Company continues to experience exceptional growth in the breadth and depth of the financial products and services we offer to our clients,” Thompson explained. “Joe’s experience in the banking industry, coupled with his knowledge of our community, allows us to focus his attention on the continued success of the Bank. It also aligns the organization’s structure with the model my father instituted when he served as Chairman and I served as President.”
Close has worked closely with the Thompson family since his arrival at Country Club Bank in 2002, having most recently served as Metro Regional President and Chair of the Regional Presidents’ Council. He will oversee the direction and administration of commercial programs, products, and services provided by the Bank, and will ensure that all aspects of the Bank's activities provide the highest level of customer relations and service.
“Anyone who knows Joe and his knowledge of commercial banking recognizes his passion for the community,” Thompson noted. “As we continue to experience year-over-year growth, it’s imperative to support our leadership team with top-tier talent, while sustaining the caring culture that has made us who we are. We’re proud that such talent and commitment comes from within the Country Club Bank family."
Close specializes in commercial lending, with 30 years in the financial industry, along with previous experience in commercial real estate throughout the Kansas City metro area. He has served in multiple leadership roles both at Country Club Bank and in the Greater Kansas City community. He earned a BA from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he was a 3-year football letterman, and an MBA from Missouri State.
“I’m humbled to lead and celebrate the upward trajectory of our dedicated associates who exemplify Country Club Bank’s values,” Close said. “This is a team I’m proud to work with day in and day out. It’s a team I’m proud to watch grow. As we go forward, we’ll continue to adapt, thrive, and remain laser-focused not only on our growth as an organization, but also as a contributing and invested member of the KC community. It’s not only an effort for success; it’s an effort to maintain, grow and embrace the legacy of Country Club Bank. It’s the best bank in town.”
Thompson noted that the “talent, institutional and cultural knowledge” Close brings will ensure Country Club Bank's ongoing success in a competitive marketplace. “As the capstone to other recent succession moves, we are energized by the strong positioning of our commercial banking team leadership. We look forward to supporting our region’s economic growth through all that our locally and privately-owned bank offers Kansas City.”
COMMERCIAL LEADERSHIP TEAM TAPPED TO GUIDE COUNTRY CLUB BANK TOWARD CONTINUED, RECORD GROWTH
Country Club Bank has announced a series of commercial leadership succession initiatives over the past 12 months designed to fortify and align commercial efforts, support Joe Close as President, and sustain Country Club Bank’s continued record growth.
- Joe James succeeds Joe Close as Metro Regional President. James previously joined Country Club Bank as Executive Vice President of Commercial Lending.
- Mike McGannon has been named Vice Chairman of Country Club Bank; McGannon has managed both the quantity and quality of Country Club Bank's loan portfolio for over three decades. McGannon has overseen the growth of Country Club Bank’s loan portfolio from $20 million when he started there in 1985 to nearly $1 billion in loans today.
- David Caffrey has been named Chief Lending Officer. A commercial bank lender for over 30 years who has also held senior bank management leadership positions, Caffrey manages the ongoing growth of the Bank’s nearly $1 billion loan portfolio. He is primarily focused on strategizing, organizing and leading the Bank’s loan production and growth efforts.
- Bob Healy has been named Country Club Bank’s Chief Credit Officer. Most
recently, Healy’s efforts have been focused in the Bank’s loan review, risk management, audit and compliance department as the Bank’s Chief Credit Risk Assessment Officer, a position he has occupied since 2011.
- Dan Teahan succeeds David Caffrey as South KC Regional President as David Caffrey moved to CLO. Teahan, an accomplished lender with over sixteen years of lending experience at Country Club Bank, is also a CPA and an alumnus of the Graduate School of Banking in Boulder, Colorado.
- Christee Highbarger has been named Chief Risk Officer. A proven executive in the field of Internal Audit, Enterprise Risk Management, Sarbanes-Oxley, and regulatory compliance requirements, Highbarger most recently served as the Chief Audit Executive/Director of Internal Audit at HNTB Corp. Prior to that, she served as the Chief Audit Executive/Director of Risk at NPC International and the Senior Internal Auditor/Manager of ERM at Kansas City Southern.
- Industry veteran Angela Stewart has been named Director of Consumer Banking. Stewart is an experienced and accomplished business development leader known for instilling a culture of unparalleled customer service. Stewart possesses nine years of leadership as a Regional Sales Manager in the Kansas City market with 15 years of sales achievement in the financial services environment. Before coming to Country Club Bank, Stewart served as VP/Private Banking Client Manager and VP, Regional Sales Manager.
- Terence Fitzpatrick has joined Country Club Bank as Associate General Counsel. Fitzpatrick advises the bank on legal matters affecting the organization including contracts and vendor management; compliance, risk and regulatory issues; treasury and capital markets matters; and litigation management.
Country Club Bank is a locally-owned community bank with assets of $1.4 billion as of Dec. 31, 2018. The bank serves the Greater Kansas City area through its 21 financial service centers, and through its affiliates, including Country Club Trust Co. with $2.2 billion in assets under administration as of Dec. 31, 2018, Country Club Financial Services, CC Capital Advisors, The Capital Corporation, Capital Markets Group, Asset Management Group, and Tower Wealth Managers.
Country Club Bank lives, breathes, and banks on the success of Kansas City and its people. With dedicated efforts in philanthropy, community betterment initiatives, and a passion for entrepreneurship, Country Club Bank’s leadership and associates believe that creating a better KC isn’t just good for business – it’s good for us all.
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