Biography

Robert Franko. Mr. Franko has more than 35 years of commercial banking experience, most recently serving 8 years as the President & CEO of First Choice Bancorp (NASDAQ:FCBP), which was sold to Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) in July 2021. During his tenure as CEO of First Choice Bancorp, the company achieved a consistent track record of growth and exceptional earnings, combined with high returns on assets and tangible equity. Mr. Franko led the effort to bring the company public and to have it included in the Russell 2000® Index. Earlier in his career, he headed the $10 Billion Trust Department for City National Bank and prior to that, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Imperial Bancorp (IMP-NYSE) before it was sold to Comerica (CMA-NYSE). Prior to joining First Choice, Mr. Franko was the founder and CEO of four different banks, including one commercial bank, one international bank, one trust bank and one industrial loan company. Mr. Franko has a long history with M&A transactions, both on the buy-side and the sell-side. He also has experience as the CFO of Canary Wharf Development Co., one of the largest real estate developments in the world. Mr. Franko has been a long-time director of the largest bankers’ bank in the US, TIB, NA and its holding company TIB, Inc. At TIB, he served as the Chairman of the Board from 2019 to 2021. He holds a BS degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of International Management at Arizona State University. Our Board considered Mr. Franko’s 35 years of commercial banking experience in determining that he should be a member of our Board.