- Key Insight: Trustmark Bank has appointed its chief financial officer, Thomas Owens, to take over as chief operating officer starting in May.
- What's at Stake: Since the bank's last two CEOs were previously COOs, some see Owens as Trustmark's potential next chief executive.
- Expert Quote: "I see this appointment as kind of a clear indication that he would be the guy," said Piper Sandler analyst Stephen Scouten.
Trustmark Bank has chosen a new chief operating officer, teeing up what some see as a potential succession plan for its CEO.
Thomas Owens, who is currently Trustmark's chief financial officer, will become COO on May 1, the Jackson, Mississippi-based bank announced on Monday. Replacing him as CFO will be Joseph Bond, an outsider who was previously corporate treasurer at Texas Capital Bancshares in Dallas.
Trustmark's current CEO, Duane Dewey, said he was "delighted" with Owens' new placement.
"Tom is a valuable member of our executive team and has a distinguished record of achievement during his 13-year tenure at Trustmark," Dewey said in a statement. "He has a strong finance discipline, understands our customers, markets, and growth opportunities and is ideally suited for this position."
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In its press release, Trustmark did not say Owens was being groomed for any future leadership position. But Stephen Scouten, an analyst at Piper Sandler, believes the signals are clear.
"I see this appointment as kind of a clear indication that he would be the guy," Scouten told American Banker.
Dewey, who has not announced any plans to retire, was 67 when the company published its proxy statement earlier this month, while Owens is 62. Trustmark did not respond to American Banker's request for comment regarding succession plans.
If Owens is the heir apparent, Scouten said, he seems like a suitable choice.
"He's done a pretty good job as CFO," Scouten said. "I think he talks about the bank very clearly, investors know him well. I think it's very logical."
In the short term, however, Scouten said the news could hurt the bank's stock price, as investors hoping for a merger could interpret the announcement as a sign that Trustmark is planning to remain independent for some time.
"I think there was a growing view that they could potentially be a seller in this environment," Scouten said. "I would think this pours a little cold water on that."
Shares in Trustmark were trading at $42.12 on Tuesday afternoon, largely unchanged from the start of the week.
The other half of Trustmark's announcement concerned Bond, the bank's new CFO. Dewey said the new hire is "ideally positioned" to lead the bank's financial endeavors.
"Joe has a distinguished record of accomplishments, having served as treasurer with extensive experience in asset-liability and capital management with larger regional banks," Dewey said.
Apart from starting their new jobs on the same day, Owens and Bond have some work history in common. Both worked at Webster Financial, though not at the same time. Owens was the Connecticut bank's assistant treasurer from 2008 to 2013, while Bond was Webster's wholesale bank manager from 1999 to 2006, according to the two men's LinkedIn profiles.
In Scouten's view, that may have made Bond more of a "known commodity" to Trustmark's leadership, including its potential next CEO.
"It looks like they had kind of a similar background in some respects, which probably gives them some comfort there," Scouten said.
