Atlantic Capital in Ga. Hires Former CFO at Square 1

Atlantic Capital Bancshares in Atlanta has hired the former chief financial officer at Square 1 Financial in Durham, N.C., to fill the same post.

The $1.4 billion-asset Atlantic Capital, which is planning an initial public offering, said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it had hired Patrick Oakes as its CFO. Oakes, 47, had been CFO at Square 1, which was bought earlier this month by PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles.

Atlantic Capital is also in the process of buying the $1.1 billion-asset First Security Group in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company plans to issue $50 million in subordinated debt to help fund the cash portion of that $160 million deal.

Oakes "has extensive experience in senior financial roles at publicly held banking companies," Doug Williams, Atlantic Capital's president and chief executive, said in a press release. "That experience will enhance our ability to become a top performing regional banking company."

Oakes succeeded Carol Tiarsmith, a founder of the bank who resigned earlier this month. Williams wrote in a letter to Tiarsmith included with the regulatory filing that Atlantic Capital would be "severing" her employment because it needed a CFO "with significant public company experience."

Tiarsmith "has built a finance organization capable of sustaining steady growth and increased operational complexity," Williams said in the company's press release.