Amerant Bancorp in Coral Gables, Florida, announced a major board restructuring Monday, adding four members while losing two long-serving directors, including Chairman Frederick Copeland, to retirement.
The moves “send a message,” CEO Jerry Plush said in an interview. “This is a strengthening of the board. … All these people add highly desirable skills and experience.”
Copeland joined the $7.6 billion-asset Amerant’s board in 2007. He was appointed chairman in November 2018, shortly after the bank's spinoff from Mercantil Servicios Financieros, its parent company based in Caracas, Venezuela. Plush will succeed Copeland as chairman following the company’s annual meeting June 8.
J. Guillermo Villar, who has been a director since 1998 and was CEO from 1988 to 2008, will also retire after the annual meeting.
“We celebrate and thank Rick and Guillermo for their many years of service and their invaluable contributions to our organization,” Plush said.
Joining Amerant’s board will be Orlando Ashford, a longtime executive with experience in management and human resources; Samantha Holroyd, an engineer and consultant to the oil and gas industry; John Quelch, the dean of the University of Miami’s Herbert Business School; and Oscar Suarez, a Miami accountant.
The four new directors “have critical skills in governance, finance, audit, human capital management and compensation,” Plush said. They’re also based in Amerant’s footprint — three in South Florida, one in Houston — which is “incredibly important. … Having people with their levels of experience and contacts will help on the business development side,” Plush added.
Amerant operates 24 branches, comprising 17 in South Florida and seven in the Houston area.
Adding four new directors expands the size of Amerant’s board to 11, a number it’s had in the past and is “probably the optimal size,” Plush said. The current nine-member board “is probably our smallest historically,” he added. “We’re very comfortable with 11.”
In addition to naming Plush chairman, Amerant appointed Pamella Dana, who has been on the board since 2007, as lead independent director.
The National Association of Corporate Directors assisted Amerant in identifying and interviewing board candidates, Plush said, although he declined to say how many the company considered. “We were very fortunate not only to find great replacements, but to be able to add” two members, he said.
The board shake-up comes less than a week after Amerant completed a $30 million private placement of subordinated notes. The company said it plans to use the funds for general corporate purposes, including the possible acquisition of banks and other financial services companies.
Amerant shares were up about 0.30% at $31.36 in midday trading Monday.
