CEO of First Community in Va. to Resign

The chief executive of First Community Bancshares (FCBC) in Bluefield, Va., plans to step down.

John Mendez will resign as president and CEO of First Community and its $2.7 billion-asset bank on Aug. 31, the company announced Tuesday. William Stafford II will become chairman and interim CEO of the holding company, Gary Mills will become president of the holding company and CEO of the bank, and Martyn Pell will become president of the bank. All the appointments take effect at the end of the month.

Mendez, 58, joined First Community in 1985. He has sat on its board since 1994 and has also served as chief financial officer and chief administrative officer.

Stafford, 49, has been on the board since 1994. He is an attorney in the firm of Brewster, Morhous, Cameron, Caruth, Moore, Kersey & Stafford, in Bluefield.

Mills joined the bank in 1998 and has been chief credit officer since 2006. Pell has been executive vice president since 2011 and joined the bank in 1993.

Mendez "has served our company and our community with uncompromising integrity, ability and dedication, at enormous personal and professional sacrifice," Stafford said in the news release. "We express our deep gratitude to John for his long-term service and commitment to our company."

First Community announced a second-quarter profit of $5.2 million last week, up 37% from the second quarter of 2012.

Last year it agreed to buy Peoples Bank in Richmond, Va., and Waccamaw Bank in Whitefield, N.C.