Caldwell Assists CrossFirst Bank in CEO Search

June 25, 2020 – Rich Perkey and Jeremy Zeman of Caldwell recently assisted CrossFirst Bankshares based in Leawood, KS in the placement of Mike Maddox as its new president and chief executive officer. His successor, George F. Jones, will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors through 2021 and will serve as vice chairman.

“I am excited to welcome Mike as our new CEO for CrossFirst Bankshares,” said Rod Brenneman, chairman. “Mike is a proven leader and an experienced banker who is well-positioned to lead CrossFirst into the future. Mike has more than 20 years of leadership roles in banking, including as CEO of CrossFirst Bank. He has a strong track record of initiating and driving results, managing operational risk and strengthening compliance,” he said. “Mike’s financial and business acumen, integrity, and commitment to strong talent management are important qualities that were considered by our nominating committee.”

Mr. Maddox has served as the bank president and CEO since 2008 and will continue in that role. During his tenure, he has significantly grown the bank’s market share in Kansas City and expanded the bank into four other key markets across Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. Prior to joining CrossFirst, Mr. Maddox was a regional president for Intrust Bank. In that role, he managed the bank’s Northeast Kansas operations.

“It is an honor to continue to lead the team that has grown the bank to over $5 billion in assets,” said Mr. Maddox. “We are a strong regional bank, and I’m grateful for our employees, clients, and partners who have made it successful.”

“Over the last two years, George successfully executed a strategy to increase profitability and give our stockholders liquidity in the public markets, which has led to strong operating performance despite a challenging external environment,” Mr. Brenneman said.  “I am proud of what the CrossFirst team has accomplished and I am confident that we have positioned the Company for success and long-term growth.”

Mr. Jones will continue to be actively involved as a board member and will transition responsibilities to Mr. Maddox over the next several weeks. “George’s strategic thinking and leadership have strengthened our company,” said Mr. Maddox. “I appreciate George for his service to CrossFirst over the last four years, and for staying on as a board member and advisor. Our business has always been driven by an outstanding group of senior leaders and team members, and I look forward to working with all of them to create value for our shareholders.”

Related: Clark Langdon Partners With SoftBank On C-Suite Searches

CrossFirst Bankshares Inc. is a Kansas corporation and a registered bank holding company for its wholly-owned subsidiary CrossFirst Bank, which is headquartered in Leawood, KS. CrossFirst Bank has seven full-service banking offices primarily along the I-35 corridor in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

Recruiting Financial Services Leaders

Caldwell’s global financial services practice serves clients in the areas of investment banking and capital markets, asset and wealth management, alternative investments, insurance, consumer financial services and real estate, as well as all shared services and functional capabilities across the financial services sector.


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Caldwell placed David W. Glidden as CEO for Liberty Bank in Middleton, Conn. Partner Rich Perkey and Glenn Buggy, managing partner, both of the firm’s financial services practice, led the assignment for the search firm. Mr. Glidden succeeded Chandler J. Howard, who led the bank since 2007.


Mr. Perkey is a partner in Caldwell’s board & CEO and financial services practices. His engagements focus on board composition and board recruitment for a diverse set of industries, including asset management, commercial banking, health insurance, information services, life insurance, mortgage banking, natural gas distribution, paper and packaging, payments, and transportation and logistics.

With more than 25 years of executive search experience, he has conducted CEO succession and search projects across North America for leading organizations in the financial services, healthcare, insurance, information services and consumer products sectors. In his specialty, financial services, he has recruited for all C-suite functional roles for organizations spanning the financial services ecosystem, including asset management, capital markets, commercial and retail banking, fintech, government-sponsored enterprises, insurance, mortgage banking and payments.

Mr. Zeman is a partner in Caldwell’s financial services practice, based in Chicago. His financial services acumen includes working closely with C-suite, boards of directors and senior-level executives in commercial/consumer banking and finance, digital/fintech, cards/payments, GSEs, mortgage banking and private equity environments guiding talent solutions.

With nearly 20 years of search experience, Mr. Zeman has completed assignments for line of business leadership and functional roles across strategy, marketing, communications, product, data/analytics, finance, risk, credit, audit and operations. Additionally, he has a track record of digital and omni-channel build-outs for clients on the journey to becoming digitally-evolved.

Related: Europe’s Largest Bank Taps Egon Zehnder to Find New CEO

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media

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