A CEO change at Professional Bank in Florida

Daniel Sheehan, who helped found Professional Bank in 2008 and has been instrumental in its growth into a $2.7 billion-asset company, has resigned as chairman and CEO of both the Coral Gables, Florida, institution and its parent company, Professional Holding Corp.

Sheehan also stepped down from the boards of the bank and holding company. Professional did not disclose the reason for Sheehan’s departure.

Abel Iglesias, who has been president of Professional Bank since 2016, is succeeding Sheehan as CEO of the bank and the holding company. Herbert Martens has been elected nonexecutive chairman of both entities.

Iglesias, a veteran South Florida banker, was chief executive of JGB Bank in Miami before joining Professional in 2013. Martens, another Professional founder and a director since 2008, was executive vice president of National City Corp. in Cleveland from 1994 to 2006.

"In many respects this is a seamless transition for me," Iglesias said in an interview Friday. "While Dan was the face of the bank in the community, particularly the investment community, I've been turning the levers, pushing the buttons and executing as president of the bank. ...We’re going to stick to our knitting and what we’ve been doing that’s gotten us to where we’re at today."

Iglesias added that Professional would continue to take an opportunistic approach to expansion. “If there’s attractive talent out there we believe could bring some value to the organization with minimal expense, we’re going to pursue those opportunities. We’re going to continue to focus on branching out beyond our South Florida footprint. … We would love to be in Orlando.”

Perhaps the most notable event of Sheehan’s tenure was Professional’s acquisition of Marquis Bank in Coral Gables in March 2020. Acquiring the $646 million-asset Marquis vaulted Professional across the $1 billion-asset threshold, adding $543 million of loans and $579 million of deposits to its balance sheet. That deal closed a month after Professional raised $60 million of capital in an initial public offering.

Under Sheehan, Professional created a Digital Innovation Center in Cleveland in December 2018 to serve as an in-house source for new technology. The unit built the digital account-opening system Professional launched in October.

Sheehan was Professional Holding’s chairman and CEO since its creation in 2014. He became the bank’s chairman in 2013 and its CEO in 2019.

“Dan Sheehan has been instrumental in growing the bank and leading us to become a public company,” Martens said in the press release. “He is a gifted entrepreneur and strategic thinker. We wish him the best of luck and thank him for his service.”

Professional reported a profit of $21.4 million in 2021, up 158% from 2020. But its fourth-quarter profit fell 27% year over year to $4 million.