LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Simmons Bank has tapped Rodney Hawkins as executive vice president and audit executive. Hawkins’ responsibilities include playing a lead role in the oversight, administration and implementation for Simmons Bank’s risk-based Internal Audit function. His role will also include providing leadership and guidance to the Simmons Bank Internal Audit Department in their review, monitoring and evaluation of the bank’s financial, operational, and compliance internal controls.
“Rodney brings three decades of Fortune 500, public-company experience and a highly regarded track record to Simmons Bank, along with a tremendous work-ethic,” said George Makris, Jr. chairman and CEO of Simmons Bank.
“We are delighted to have Rodney join our team to transition into this significant role,” added Johnny McCaleb, Simmons’ executive vice president and chief audit executive.
Prior to joining Simmons Bank, Hawkins served as chief compliance officer and vice president of Internal Audit at Windstream Communications and was responsible for all aspects of compliance and Internal Audit functions, including establishing strategy, creating and overseeing policies, procedures and audit methodology, and designing the risk management process. He previously served as vice president of Internal Audit at Time Warner Inc., overseeing audit strategy, quality assurance, risk assessment, audit plan creation and reporting.
A certified public accountant, Hawkins holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from the University of Georgia. He and his family reside in Little Rock. He is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and serves on the Board of Director’s for the American Cancer Society (Arkansas). He will be based out of Simmons Bank’s River Market office in downtown Little Rock.
Hawkins will work with Johnny McCaleb, who joined Simmons Bank in 2016.
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About Simmons Bank
Simmons Bank is an Arkansas state-chartered bank that began in 1903. Through the decades, Simmons has developed a full suite of financial products and services designed to meet the needs of individual consumers and business customers alike. Simmons has grown steadily and today operates more than 200 branch locations throughout Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Simmons is the subsidiary bank for Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ: SFNC), a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, with total consolidated assets of $22.3 billion as of Dec. 31, 2020. For more information, visit https://simmonsbank.com/.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
ASHLEY LEOPOULOS
Simmons Bank
Public Relations Manager
501.413.7055 (mobile)
ashley.leopoulos@simmonsbank.com