Enterprise Financial Services Corp. in St. Louis said Kevin C. Eichner will step down May 1 as its president and chief executive officer to become the president of Ottawa University in Kansas.
Peter F. Benoist, the chairman and an executive vice president of Enterprise and the chairman and CEO of its Enterprise Bank and Trust, will succeed Mr. Eichner, the $2 billion-asset company said Monday. James J. Murphy Jr., Enterprise Financial's lead director, will succeed Mr. Benoist as the nonexecutive chairman.
Mr. Eichner, 57, will remain a vice chairman of Enterprise, a position he has held since co-founding the company in 1988. He also will remain a member of its executive committee, the chairman of Enterprise Bank and Trust's board, and the chairman of a subsidiary bank the company plans to open in Phoenix in the third quarter.
Mr. Eichner said in an interview that since he became the holding company's president and CEO in 2002, his bank has increased its assets under management 192%, to $1.75 billion, and its earnings per share have grown at a compound annual rate of 22%.
Enterprise's shares fell 3.3% Monday, to close at $19.35.
